Never Forgive Me
by Raven-Rach
Summary: Max and Fang have not spoken in months, the Flock is torn and divided... What happened? And how can Fang try to fix things if Max is adamant that she wants nothing to do with him? The key question is Why, but no one seems to know the answer...
1. Apartment 105

_This is the first chapter of my Fanfic story- Never Forgive Me. I ran it on the Flock Forums and it got a pretty great response so I said I would edit it, improve it and start to post it here. The first chapter is unbelievably short (I know) but trust me when I say the chapters will get longer. Think of this as a little introduction or prologue! Well, let me know what you think. The main thing to remember in this story is that **Max and Ari are NOT brother and sister** (I wrote this long before book 3 was released by JP!) Well, that's about it! On with the story..._

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**~Fang POV~**

Here I am.

At last, I'm here.

Apartment 105.

It had taken so long to get to this point, to find her, to let myself stop being so pigheaded. I had shrouded myself in fake anger and selfishly become more introverted then ever, ignoring everyone's pain in an effort to dispel my own. It didn't work and only the most masochistic of all men could put up with painful separation like this for so long. I was ready to renounce my masochism. I was willing to get her back. After all, I was here, wasn't I?

We had had our fights, boy did we have our fights. We always bickered and argued, we had fought before but not like this. Never ever like this. This was the Hundred Years War in comparison to a minor disagreement.  
It had been so long since I had seen her. So very long since I had seen her beautiful, golden hair and her lively, piercing eyes. With an ever-present pain in my chest that often constricted and made it hard to breathe- I realised that I had missed her. It was my own idiocy that was to blame. Stubbornness was clearly a strong fault in both of us. We had gone way too far this time, we had split up the Flock and caused huge rifts between everyone. It wasn't fair, it wasn't natural and we all doubted that this would ever be set right.

But now I was here to try to fix it.

Time to make amends.

Time to win back Maximum Ride. Who currently resided in Apartment 105.....


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, here's chapter 2! Enjoy! Please let me know what you think =] Thank you for taking the time to read! Sorry for the confusion- this chapter got deleted and then reposted! There were some errors that needed updating! Apologies =P_

**Disclaimer- everything belongs to Jp! I own nothing... *sniff***

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****~Fang POV~**

I was standing concealed in the corner in direct line with apartment 105.

Waiting.

I highly doubted that Max would actually let me past the front door, therefore I was just going to have to ambush her _at_ the front door. It was a simple plan, but one could only hope that it would be effective.I could hear steps on the staircase a few flights down, a light tread- purposeful and determined. It wasn't long until I saw a blonde head of hair swish past and pause outside my target apartment. My breath caught in my throat and it was getting harder to calm the loud thumping of my heart.

_Nice one, Fang, _I told myself disdainfully. _You can face an army of Erasers without a care in the world, but coming face to face with your best friend makes you want to run away in a haze of nervous perspiration._

The woman was slender with blonde, naturally highlighted hair cropped stylishly just past her jaw line. She wore light blue, ripped denim jeans and a white t-shirt. I hadn't seen her face yet but I knew that she was beautiful.

I knew she was Max.

Inhaling deeply, I put one foot forward, ready to confront her as she searched for her keys in her black rucksack. A deep breath was needed: I probably wouldn't have time to take one while Max was inevitably kicking my pitiful behind from here to the middle of the busy street downstairs. Before I could muster up the courage to actually move from my shadow-enveloped nook, a tall, burly man in a red baseball cap strode forcefully in front of me. He hadn't seen me, so I decided to wait until he began going down the stairs before attempting to move. Just in case things got ugly with me and Max. Or in other words: so that when things got ugly with me and Max, innocent civilians wouldn't be exposed to the carnage… Optimism truly was one of my most admirable traits.

But he didn't head for the stairs. He stopped at 105. Putting a muscle bound an arm over the door jamb, the stranger pinned Max in-between the door and his body. In typical Max fashion, she spun around in a whirl of golden hair and shoved him backwards. The man started forward menacingly, thrusting her forcefully against the wall.

_Oh hell no_. I don't care if we were fighting, there was no way some idiot was going to lay a hand on her. Max would probably try to kill me for attempting to help, but that was what I did. When Max was in trouble, Fang was the one who rescued her. Everyone knew that. It was a given, a core fact. Even if it had been a very long time since I had done anything but cause her trouble...This loser was going to get it. If not from me, then certainly from Max. It was hard to suppress a sardonic chuckle- the poor fool really had chosen the wrong people to mess with.

He turned around swiftly, checking if anyone was around. Satisfied, he grabbed Max by the throat. His filthy, unworthy hands wrapping around her neck. I didn't try to stop him though. I didn't move, I didn't help, I did nothing. I was too busy trying to control the thick red mist of fury that had suddenly clouded my vision. It was a storm of fiery anger that made me so livid that I was starting to shake. My fists were clenched so hard to prevent me from punching through the wall beside me that I was hurting myself. Tiny crescent shapes dotted the insides of my palms from my piercing nails. The man had turned and I had seen his face.

I was going to kill him. Kill him first for me, and then for Max and then for the Flock. I was going to kill him.

It was Ari.


	3. Chapter 3

**The chapters are getting longer- as promised! Big thank-you to everyone who took the time to read this and especially those who made the effort to review! Like I said- this will be regularly updated. Well, on with the story... _And Do Not Forget- Max and Ari are _NOT _related!!!!_ **

_Disclaimer... Surprisingly, still not mine..._

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**Fang POV**

As I struggled to pull myself out of my rage-induced standstill, I realised that Ari had actually matured past his "grab the bird kid and go" routine. It seemed like he was going to speak to Max? So, out of curiosity, I paused for a second in my discreet corner of the hallway. If he wasn't hurting her, then it couldn't hurt to hear what he was saying. Right? I reassured myself with the fact that I could always jump in and pull him off her if he so much as raised a beefy hand in Max's direction.

"Hello Sweetheart," Ari growled. One hand was around Max's throat pinning her up against the cream wall.

"I'm not your Sweetheart," Max snarled. That was my Max- never back down, even when trapped. That was the strength of a leader for you, I suppose.I could see the veins in his bulky arms clench as he tightened his grip.

"But you are mine, Max. You. Belong. To. Me." He chuckled to himself- a animalist grunting sound that was completely foreign- as he contemplated something happily to himself for a second.

"Man, I love saying that. Maximum Ride; mine at last." Max gave another feral snarl. I didn't need to see her face to know that her teeth were most likely bared in an intimidating manner, and eyes had probably taken on that fiery look of wildness that they adopted when she was cornered.

I knew his hand was around her slender neck, that I should do something to help… but I couldn't do anything except listen. Desperately wanting to know what the Eraser was talking about in his delusional manner. I couldn't butt in now.

"Ah, ah. Manners please." He reprimanded through lips that were undoubtedly curled in amusement.

"I'm not your anything," the blonde choked out. Ari's grip became vice-like and his voice dangerous. Red patterns began to spring up on her throat beneath his thick fingers. "Max, I think you're forgetting our little arrangement. You wouldn't want anything to happen to that precious little Flock of yours now would you?

...... And then I froze up again- as though someone had shot nitrogen straight into one of my major arteries and it had already begun to freeze up all my organs. I couldn't move. a deal? Between Max and Ari? The Eraser that had tried to kill us all for years? Maybe Jeb wasn't the only traitor that my family had been naïve enough to let in… What was going on??!

"No," Max managed to gasp, bringing me back to the situation at hand.

"Perhaps you should remind me of our deal then, hmm?" His tight hold on her neck loosened but he pushed her against the wall again to emphasise his point. Her skull smacked against the plaster with a dull thump.

"I get you, and you get...? Tell me Max, refresh my memory." Ari was taking way too much enjoyment from this- the sick, warped-

"You get me... I get the Flock. The Flock lives. The Erasers stay away."

......Erasers?? What Erasers?! They were dead, Max specifically told us that they were all gone. Six feet under, capishe, gone, no more, never to be seen again! I could feel a spectacular migraine beginning and latching its claws into my cerebral cortex. Ari gave a twisted grin that I only half glimpsed.

"You see Maximum, you are mine." He released her. "Why do you fight me Max? Hmm? After all this time? He ran a finger down her defined jaw line with a ghostlike glimmer of a touch. "Good thing I like 'em feisty."

Max was glowering, but.... she let him continue speaking. Why? She could have had him flat on his back from the word go. By rights he should have gone flying down the stairs or sailing out the window before he even dared to open his mouth. If it was up to me he wouldn't even be breathing right now. Watching Ari touch Max like that made me so furious that my balled fists were turning numb. Confusion, anger, shock and puzzlement took control of me and it was all I could do to pace my breathing. My breaths were shallow and laboured at the maelstrom of thoughts racing around in my pained hand around her neck unlatched itself, leaving ruby red stains on her skin. Gently, she turned and began rooting around in her bag. Max extracted a key on a simple keychain and pushed it into the lock of Apartment 105 with steady fingers .

Then she let Ari follow her inside.

Questions and theories followed by conclusions leapt about in my head, as I leant against the cream wall for support. What on earth was going on? I had never felt so desperate for an answer.

However when I got that answer I felt so violently sick to my stomach that I wished I never had. I wanted to run, to erase the knowledge from my memory and never, ever come back to this city again. Never mention the name Maximum Ride, never picture her golden hair or her magnificent wings as long as I lived. We all had 'talents', they had developed at various stages of our adolescence. The last skill I had received was hearing that matched if not excelled Iggy's. Super heightened hearing. Sounds in a radius of miles never escaped my attention, it had near driven me mad at the beginning. Before I learnt how to focus on only the things that were very close.

Close like on the other side of a door. Close like inside an apartment across a hallway. Things that were so close I couldn't shut them out no matter how hard I tried. Noises and sounds I wanted to block out but never could. I knew as soon as they reached my sensitive ears that they would be imprinted on my mind forever.

I could hear everything. It was multiplied in my mind tenfold. Everything. The scratching sound of zippers opening, the rustle of clothes being discarded and hitting the floor, the groan of creaking bedsprings... everything. I was going to be sick. Of that I was sure. My frozen body tensed even more, allowing me only to slide down against the wall until I hit the cold floor before it turned rigid and unmoving.

How could Max even... Not even within the safe confines of my own mind could I utter the truth of it all for fear that it would seem even more realistic. This could not be real. It was too surreal, it was too… wrong. But here I was, floundering in a dark abyss of shock on a very real, very solid floor in the middle of an unknown corridor.

How could Max…It didn't bear thinking about, and yet I could think of nothing else.


	4. Chapter 4

******Once again, just bare in mind that Max and Ari are NOT related, Jeb is Ari's dad but he is nothing to Max. He's just the scientist who broke them out of the School all those years ago. As a rule, I absolutely detest Max/Ari stories as the plot is completely absurd and unrealistic, but the last chapter is the only reference I have to the pairing and the last few lines of Chapter 3 is as graphic as that particular set-up is going to get. Don't worry, I will be swiftly moving on to Max/Fang very soon.******

_Disclamier- see previous, the status hasn't changed =P _

~Fang POV~

The door opened and they both walked out. A smug grin adorned Ari's brutish face and I itched to wipe that smirk off him once and for all- but I couldn't, because I was still hidden in the dusty shadows held captive to my own shock. The only reassurance I found was in the expression on Max's face. She looked so completely ill and disgusted that it calmed me infinitesimally. Perhaps, the more optimistic side of me suggested, it all isn't as awful as you originally thought. But the pessimistic in me who lived in reality scoffed: no matter what the circumstances were, this could never get any worse. This was the seventh ring of hell. This was the poison-tipped arrow through my forlorn heart.

"I'll see you the Bank holiday," Ari said. My eyes closed in despair. I couldn't bear to watch this horrendous scene unfold any further.

"No." Came the stubborn response from Max. My closed lips flew open- there she was. That was Maximum Ride- just a little glimmer of a shadow of who this girl used to be, but it was her none the less. Back-talking and headstrong, there were just two traits of my once mighty leader. Maybe there was more to it- maybe she wasn't a backstabber or traitor. There might be a very slim chance that Max wasn't fraternised with the enemy- and the idiotic, foolish part of me leapt at that possibility of hope.

"What?!" The one single word held contempt and rage that almost approached the feelings I held myself. Ari turned nuclear, thrusting his face inches from hers and backing her mussed blonde head of hair up against the wall.

"I won't be here on the Bank holiday," Max retorted with that familiar glint of defiance in her eye.

"You'll be here when I tell you to be here." Max glared at him fiercely and I could see her hackles raising. "However, if you ask permission nicely- I may just think about it."

Max's look of pronounced hatred intensified. Ari laughed in response. Speaking in low, menacing tones. "Still fighting, Max." he chuckled. "My father would think you had a plan. Always a plan. But it makes me so happy to know that you're up the creek, Max. And you don't have a paddle. No plan. We all know what happened the last time you tried to get out of this, don't we? You should be thanking me Max, I gave you a way out of a certain death. I was even nice enough to spare your Flock. So why the hostility?" he paused. "Now, if you really want to go and visit those pathetic winged losers you better ask permission, hadn't you?"

At the words 'pathetic winged losers' Max started forward looking homicidal. A deep, protective growl emitted from her throat. Relief flooded every fibre of my being. Things were bad, horrifically and gruesomely bad but at least Max was still Max. She loved the Flock, she still would rather do anything then hurt her family. It was a bittersweet realisation. Pulling at my heartstrings and filling me with pain, yet I found a twisted relief accompanying the knowledge.

However, Max retreated. In her mind, she had obviously already worked out which option would mean less grief and which decision would give her a greater success rate. So at that moment I saw another side to Maximum Ride that I had never before witnessed: she bowed her head and shrunk back against the wall, repressing the ferocious snarls that desperately clamoured to make themselves heard.

"I want to leave for the Bank holiday," she ground out through gritted teeth, raising her eyes to meet his in her only form of pride-preservation.

"What's the magic word?" Ari taunted. The sensitive skin on the inside of my palm throbbed as my nails pierced through in an attempt to restrain myself.

"Please." Max implored shakily. Just like that, Old Max had completely vanished as suddenly as she had come. I was positively seething- as was she, beneath the surface.

"All right then sweetheart," Ari laughed heartily. A cruel sound like rocks and boulders grating against each other in the bottom of some desolate quarry.

"Just think," the Eraser mused. "Maximum Ride: the amazing, wonderful Maximum Ride finally beaten. Conquered by me." Ari looked her square in the eye. "You can't get me Max. We both know that. All you can do is go back inside and beat that punch bag of yours until you're too exhausted to continue." Max's firmly set jaw tried to prove him wrong, but her emotion-filled eyes betrayed her.

"Just think, I broke Maximum Ride." Ari smiled broadly with gloating glee at this, before turning to walk smugly away.

"I am not broken," Max said with fierce determination when he had turned down the corridor and gone far out of hearing distance. "I am **NOT** broken."

For the first time in my life, I was involuntarily speechless. Silence had never been something that caught hold of me and held me captive- it was always a choice that I readily embraced. Right now, my sense of speech eluded me and left me a gaping fool.

What was I supposed to do now? More importantly, what exactly was really going on?


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so basically I have had a really awful day and I'm pretty unwell on top of it all... but I can't sleep so here's another chapter. Huge thank to all readers and reviewers alike, I am so glad you guys actually like this story! Shocked... but glad! =P**

_Max POV_

My fist slammed into the punch bag. I had been doing this for ages- time had simply dissolved into nothingness, a foreign concept that I didn't adhere to. The only indication that I had been here for a length of time was the fact that my knuckles had long turned red. Although the furious rage still consumed me and knew that I couldn't stop. I hit the 'on' button on my stereo, hopping up and down on my toes psyching myself up before pummelling the dangling black bag again. My fists were a flurry of activity, my feet bouncing nimbly on the floor. This was absolution. This was me working through my issues. It was through my clenched fists that I allowed myself to vent.

As 'Signal Fire' by Snow Patrol filled the room, I realised I was beat. My breathing was laboured and shallow, more like gasping then anything else. Drenched in my own sweat, I hugged the inanimate victim of my anger and slid to the floor panting heavily.

A loud banging resonated from the door. Not now, I sighed, I couldn't see anyone now. There were certain rituals that needed to be carried out first. I needed to push myself further, take out more of my disgust and anger, punish myself for my own misdeeds. Then came the long shower. Although, even smothering myself in cleansing bubbles and suds could not wash away my crimes. A bath in pure, undiluted bleach couldn't cleanse the impurities and filth from my body. But my repulsive wrongdoings were better then the alternative, and if I had to I would even take that bath in peroxide.

As the knocking continued there was only one thought in my mind replaying over and over like a personal mantra or prayer_. Don't be Ari, please_ _don't be Ari. Don't be Ari, don't be Ari.  
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"I'm coming, I'm coming." I shouted. It was a dismal lie- I was still slumped on the floor unable to move after so much physical exertion.

The banging increased in volume and I shoved myself off the floor in a sticky mess of perspiration.

"What?!" I asked in exasperation as I yanked open the door.

_# There you are standin' right in front of me...# _sang Snow Patrol in the background.

How fitting. For there he was, standing right in front of me. The one person I had thought I would never see again. The one person I truly hoped I would never see again. But most of the time, hopes and dreams amount to nothing. They crash and burn and you find yourself floundering in situations you never anticipated. There he was, right in front of me, not a dream but a real tangible person with messy onyx hair and piercing, deep eyes that haunted my dreams...... Fang.

_Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. _My brain was going into panic mode and the song in the background was really summing up what was happening to me in the cruellest of ironies. I'm sure that my jaw actually dropped and my eyes began to prick with salty pain.

_# I felt every ounce of me screaming out but the sound was trapped deep in me.... I was rooted fast to the earth...#  
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The door. I needed to close the door. If he couldn't get in, I couldn't see him and what you couldn't see wasn't real. Hastily with reckless force, I shoved the door shut. Pushed it hard to shut out those deep brown pools that stared at me accusingly. But he was too quick, his foot wedged in between the door and its frame just before the lock could click into place.

"Don't do it Max. Don't even think about it," his voice was strained and hoarse. It sounded so familiar... "Don't you dare shut this door." Each word shot swords through my chest. A voice I was so certain I would never hear again. The voice that comforted me, that chased away my nightmares and frightened off my own fears. A voice of heartbreak to my unwilling ears.

He took a deep breath- it sounded like a weary sigh, full of deep emotions I couldn't bring myself to decipher. This had to finish, this couldn't continue any longer or it would surely break me. I kept pushing against the door with desperation. The only barrier I could put between us, it was sorely needed. I couldn't see him. He couldn't be here. He just couldn't be here. What if he had seen? Oh God what if he had seen Ari?! How could I explain it? I couldn't explain it. I felt nauseating panic rising up inside me, he needed to leave. He couldn't be here. My stomach churned as the room swayed and tilted on its axis. I felt physically sick.

"Look Fang," I started, trying to keep my voice from trembling. That was a mistake, I shouldn't have said his name- it made this all seem to real, it increased the ever-present throbbing in my chest that threatened to envelop me in a black oblivion of agony and guilt. "You can't be here. It's too late. I don't want to see you, okay. Just get out of here and don't come back. Just forget that you ever saw me, forget that you came here. I don't need you here so just leave."

"Are you afraid that I'm going to find out your secrets Max?" his husky voice questioned. We were both still thrusting at the door, the strain showed in our voices. "It's too late for that Max. I know...… I saw him. **HIM**, Max. God, what the hell is the matter with you!" he was shouting at me. A mixture of fury, shock and anguish resonated in his speech. "How could you? I... I heard it all Max! Everything so don't try to cover it up. I know!"

I could feel myself fighting the urge to sob. It was crashing down around me. Every single carefully crafted lie, everything I had created in these past months was tumbling down on top of me like the walls of a poorly built house in the middle of an earthquake.

"Just explain to me. Please." Fang was begging. His muscled forearms were scrabbling powerfully at the useless rectangle of wood between our bodies. As he attempted to force his way in, I was still fighting him with caustic tears burning my eyes.

"Get out!" I cried, barely containing the sobs and streaming tears.

"No Max! Not until you explain. It was Ari! Ari! Tell me what you were doing with scum like him? What the hell is wrong with you? Did someone smash you over the head with a metal pipe?! Do I need to remind how many times he tried to kill you? Kill me, kill the Flock? What could possibly be going on in your mind, Max?! What is going on, just please, please, tell me what's going on.... Why, Max..? How could you-"

With one last surge of strength I finally managed to shut the door. It connected with the jamb with a reassuring click. I leant against the frame breathing slowly, feeling safer now that there was distance between us. He couldn't get to me in here, he couldn't get the terrible, terrible truth from me in here. A cocoon of reassurance settled in as I collapsed on the floor of my familiar apartment. In here I was not Maximum Ride, I did not have a family, I did not do horrible things with horrible people. In here I was just Max, the blonde girl from 105 who lived alone. As long as I was in this apartment, the man outside who was trying to pound my door of its hinges had no claim to me.

"You don't need to know Fang! This doesn't concern you. I'm doing what's best for the Flock! Just... just please leave. Go and don't come back." My hands burrowed into my damp hair and hid my face as I tried to focus on breathing.

He started smashing his fists into the door. "MAX!! Open this goddamned door! MAX!" The door shook with his efforts and jostled my back. The sound of his hands on the surface rang loudly in my ears. Pictures of his face ran around my mind and refused to leave me alone, his husky voice coated in distress echoed in my head to the backdrop of gently haunting Snow Patrol instrumentals.

It was all coming to an end. My carefully crafted lie was crashing and burning around me, leaving me to fry in the searing flames. There was no one to save me. I had gotten myself into this mess and had given myself no escape route. I was burning in a bonfire of my own destruction, there were no overhead sprinklers to save me now. This time I had royally screwed up.

"Just GO!" I roared. I had hardly expected it to work, could I dare to think I would get off that easy?

And then I managed to feel shock amidst all my stronger emotions of desperation, fear and torment. The unthinkable happened.

The noise stopped.

I was alone.

Again.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is dedication people! I have been lying sick in bed all day but I decided to update for you guys anyway =P ~  
Huge thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and to review! As always, let me know what you think! And to Skye Maxwell- I'm sorry, but no Michael Jackson in this chapter. I did try but he said he was otherwise engaged =( Oh well...!**

~ Fang POV ~

No way was I leaving. No freaking way. I would sit outside this apartment all day if I had to. I would wait in front of this apartment until she ventured outside again. Nothing could make me leave, no matter how long this would take. I could hear with my usual startling clarity everything going on on the other side of the door- Max gave something a hearty thump and then messed about with a stereo before flopping onto a bed. Focusing on every sound, I could nearly see them happening.

Her stereo must have been very old, instead of a CD whirring about I could hear the static sound of an old tape fill the room. Voices crackled into life. Instantly, I recognised them as taped phone calls. Bits and pieces of conversations that Max must have recorded. Curiosity stirred in my mind and I strained my ears all the more so that each word echoed in my head in a deafening crescendo.

"Max, you're just being ridiculously stubborn. Both of you are. One of you has to make the first move... think of the kids here..." Iggy. The placating yet argumentative voice of Iggy getting sick of our nonsense. Over the past few months, I had been on the receiving end of dozens of the same type of calls.

"I feel like my parents got divorced or something..... it's awful Max. Please make up with Fang. Please!" That was Gazzy. Poor kid, he didn't deserve to suffer because me and Max had managed to screw up once again. It was hard enough the first time round- I had seen Iggy and Gazzy's broken heartedness firsthand. That was when we swore to stay together forever, never to split up again… and yet look at this mess. Once again it was everyone else that was dragged into the suffering with us.

The taped voices didn't cease, they just went on and on. It was heartbreak. It was a crushing sense of overwhelming guilt. With my back to Max's apartment, I wanted nothing more then to turn off the stereo. Throw it out the window and watch it smash into a million pieces on the sidewalk below. I didn't want to face up to this tortuous guilt, it had to end. Why couldn't Max shut it off? And then it dawned on me: Max was punishing herself.

Nudge took over from the Gasman, chattering on about how hurt she felt, how this was wrong and shouldn't happen. But her voice didn't hold her usual enthusiasm, it was just a dull and saddened glimmer of what it used to be. She went on for ages, then Iggy cropped up a few more times.

Angel was last. And worst.

Our little girl sounded really down, sniffling as her voice caught in her throat. "Max, it's not fair. I want both of you- at the same time! Why are you still fighting? I can't read your mind anymore and it's weird. I love you both. Even more then my other mum and dad- you're my first mom and dad. This sucks Max." she began to cry. The sound of her tears was a brutal punch to my gut. "Why can't you just be friends with Fang again?!" she hiccupped between sobs. And there it was- the logic of an innocent child. Why couldn't we stop fighting? Why couldn't we swallow our pigheaded pride for once?

The crackling tape clicked to an abrupt finish. I thought the absence of their voices would make me fell better- but I only felt worse. They had tried, they had called me and tried to tell me but I wasn't really listening. I was the closest thing they had to a father for the first years of their lives… and yet I was making them suffer for my selfish stubbornness.

In a small, weak voice Max started to speak. She had been crying, I realised. Maximum Ride had been crying. The sentence sounded alien and wrong.

"Because he'd never forgive me, sweetie. Not ever. If he knew what I've done, he would never be able to forgive me for it. And it hurts me too. So so much, baby... But you're safe, Fang's safe, the Flock is safe. That's all that matters. It's all that has ever mattered." Max spoke to the empty room shrouded by silence and the trickling of tears. "That's why Fang had to leave, Angel. It's for the best. Even though it hurts."

I sat outside the door overcome with emotions I couldn't comprehend, with thoughts I couldn't deal with. That tape was a like a personal form of hell for Max, there was no other way of looking at it. All our pain boiled down to us two. Why didn't I try harder to find her sooner? I should have seen through her lies, I was always the one that knew her best. Her foundational lie was that she worked for homeless kids and had to travel a lot therefore having no fixed abode. So the Flock could never visit her, write to her or find her. How convenient. Although, even if one of the others had an address, I was the last one they would tell after what happened. The events were still clear in my mind, it felt like yesterday even though it had been months......

*****FLASHBACK*****

"Max, this is my family. I need to stay here, we spent long enough looking! I'm not going to throw it all away now!" I stressed exasperatedly. Surely, she could understand. She was the one person that I thought would understand.

"But you think it's okay to just throw me away, right? Me: the one who helped you to survive, the one that was there for you through the hardest times of your life! What did these people ever do for you? They are strangers Fang, you don't know them and believing that they care is a delusional fantasy. Unlike your real family they never did a tap to help you when you needed it."

"Don't diss them, Max. If they were given the chance they would have been there! Just because you are the only one that couldn't find your parents doesn't mean that you can take it out on mine." We were squabbling as usual, on a thick branch a short distance from my parents' place. I should have realised how hard it was for her- I was the last one, and I was leaving. Her family was almost gone. But I didn't realise, I was too busy fighting with her. As usual, neither one of us would back down and it was only a matter of time before one of us went too far. We were already bordering the fine line between acceptable and going too far.

"You promised. You swore that you would never leave me again. Never, Fang!" her eyes bored into mine with a strange mix of anger and fear, I was too caught up in the moment to notice the element of sadness they held.

"You could stay with us! With me!" There it was- retraction. Swallowing my words in a desperate last minute bid not to lose her. It wasn't enough and I should have copped that long before now.

Max scoffed. "It's them or me, Fang. I don't want to make you chose, but deep down you already have. Go back to them Fang, I'm sure they'll appreciate your lying!"

"What am I lying about?!" I shouted. Reverting- for a time- to my usual short sentences. Whenever Max and I would fight I tended to drastically exceed my average word quota for a couple of months- rage made you roar.

"What aren't you lying about! 'I'll never leave you, Max. Not ever.'" she mimicked, shouting too.

"Well you seem happy enough to leave O Mighty Leader!" Suddenly I had forgotten all about trying to get her to stay. It was all about the argument now, as it always was. It was all about getting the upper hand, all about winning.

"You know what Fang, forget it! Tell your lies to someone else, I'm going."

She got ready to fly off in anger. Her magnificent wings were already snapped open with her speckled feathers ruffling in the powerful wind.

"Just remember who does all the saving around here, Max." I yelled viciously. "I'll be waiting for you to come back once you've landed yourself in avoidable trouble again. I'm sure it won't be long!"

She whirled around ferociously. "Well just remember who does all the getting injured! Only thing is, this time I won't be here to patch up your pride! Good riddance!" She roared as she soared away, leaving me fuming.

Oh we had long passed the line between acceptability and the point of no return.

*****END FLASHBACK*****

Shrill ringing from the telephone inside the apartment awoke me from my thoughts. Max's voice was still effortlessly clear, but I refused to let myself hear the person on the other end of the phone. Another sermon from Iggy could finish me off with an overdose of guilt.

"Hello?" Max answered calmly, all traces of her anguish well masked. "Margie, hi!...Ummm, yeah why not... business as usual?"

After a short pause I heard Max give a tinkling laugh. "Yeah sure," she continued. "That's the plan... I'll see you at nine... Okay, bye!"

'Business as usual'? 'That's the plan'? Maybe Max did have a plan! My girl may have been up the creek but it looked like she may have found a paddle. There was always a contingency plan, there had to be. And if there wasn't… I would just have to help her to find one. I was not leaving, and Max would just have to come to terms with that. I promised I would stay, and stay I would.

It was 8.20. I was going to wait. I was going to follow her. There was nothing she could do to stop me. Not this time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Update time! Okay so first off- the songs used are 'Fidelity by Regina Spektor' and "Angel by Sarah McLachlan'. I would definietly recommend that you listen to Angel- the song is amazingly beautiful. Thank you so much to all readers and reviewers!! As always let me know what you think! Lyrics are in italics. I think there might be too much emphasis on music here...... Thank you so much to chocalate is gawd for pointing out to me that the entire thing was (wrongly) in italics!! Really appreciate it!!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, Angel or Fidelity

~ Fang POV ~

I heard her shower kick into life. I heard her stereo tune into some radio station that was playing Regina Spektor- I knew this because my sister Allie had her CD. The melody was sweet and I couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the relevant lyrics.

__

~I hear in my mind  
All these voices~

Instantly a mental slide show began- pictures of Max freefalling through the air. The nostalgic feelings of my own swooping to save her- wings folded in and nose-diving to the ground. The panic that used to fill my heart each time, followed by the massive relief when I felt her drop into my waiting arms. Every time, it was caused by that voice plaguing Max's mind. It always tore me up to know that I could never make the pain stop.

__

~And it breaks my heart  
And it breaks my heart  
And it breaks my heart  
It breaks my heart~

Well that was true- it had always broken my heart to realise that I never held the power to stop those excruciating voices. Just like it always hurt when Max ran away from all my attempts to show her that I had loved her.

_~Suppose I never ever let you kiss me so sweet and so soft~_

She never had- not really despite my best efforts.

_~Suppose I never ever saw you  
Suppose we never ever called~_

There was no supposing about it- that had happened months ago.

~_All my friends say that of course its gonna get better~ _That was why I was here, wasn't it? I was going to make this better- even if Max didn't want better, better was what she was going to get. It was my knew mission. After those lyrics, I felt confidence surround me once more. The Flock was right- this would get better and it would be all down to me.

But my confidence dwindled when the last words sung pierced a hole in me once more.

__

~I hear in my mind all of these voices  
I hear in my mind all of these words  
I hear in my mind all of this music  
And it breaks my Heart  
it breaks my heart~

Suddenly, I could hear Ari's voice followed by an internal rewind to those dreadful sounds. The Flock's heart wrenching words crying down the telephone. Damn it. Could I really fool myself into thinking those scars of pain would simply vanish as soon as I strode back into the picture with a few suave words and good intentions?

By this stage, the music had long stopped and the water ceased to drip. From the hidden corner, I saw her back out of the doorway and shut the door to Apartment 105 with an unintentional swish of her blonde hair. Master of Silence and highly experienced at moulding discreetly into the background, I shadowed her swift movements through the bustling crowds on the busy street. Max, of course, was an expert at dodging unwanted company- years of living on the run had made her talented at losing any followers. But I had also lived on the run, and was more then capable of following her without ever being caught.

She had stopped, entered a sturdy block of a building. A red-bricked place with multicoloured stained glass windows. There was a swinging sign just outside the doors. As she pushed open and closed the black double doors, a bubble of clamouring sound escaped- happy and relaxed. The sign proclaimed a message in thick green letters on a golden background.

****JORDAN'S****

**!Karaoke Tonight!  
**

What was Max doing here? Maybe it was a cover- who would suspect anything in a family run karaoke bar. Yeah, that was it, Max was using this place as a cover to meet this Margie person to get her plan together. Yeah. That was in. Now, Phase 2 of the mission: to keep track of Miss Maximum Ride...

Strangely it wasn't that hard to keep an eye on her. The pub was busy; full of regulars lapping up the atmosphere, laughing, joking and chatting to the backdrop of glasses clinking together musically. Yet Max was easy to spot- she was one of the ones wearing a black apron. Maximum Ride was a barmaid and waitress?! No, I told myself, don't pass it off just yet it could still be part of the plan.

So I watched her from the very back, sitting at a small wooden table ringed with the stains of long ago moved beer glasses. She was good at what she did- smiling and laughing with people who obviously knew this part of her that I didn't. Occasionally she sat briefly at a table to chat, she walked back at forth with beverages, propped herself up at the bar smiling or automatically raised a hand to push a stray lock of hair away from her bright eyes.

Then some customers began to chant 'Karaoke' over and over, and equipment was set up on a raised platform at the top of the room. The cry was broken into separate sounds by the audience so that it sounded like "Kar- Ee- Ooh- Kee!" it was made staccato by the pounding of fists on the small wooden tables. There was a piano, a stool, three microphones and a karaoke machine up on the stage. Max pulled off her apron behind the bar as the lights dimmed. Maybe this was the end of her 'shift', now she would meet with 'Margie' while everyone else was distracted by the karaoke. Excellent plan, Max- as always. My eyes zoned in on her, locking onto her as though she were a target.

And then she hopped gracefully onto the platform and grabbed a mic. Customers gave rousing cheers, grinning as they called out her name. I may as well admit at this stage that I had far surpassed confused, perplexed or any other likeminded adjective that paled in comparison to the way I felt after today.

Max was laughing. It struck me that it had been a very very long time since I had heard that rich sound. "All right, all right, calm down! Okay, any newcomers out there I might as well explain the set-up. I'll start off with a song or two to settle you in-" there was a loud enthusiastic cheer from many of those seated below her. "- and then I'm gonna come around and get some of you up on stage! Don't be nervous, don't get shy, it's just a bit of fun. Okay, lets hit it then- get those voices ready down there, right?!"

I was- in fact- speechless once again. Twice in one day. She was singing some chart hit. She was singing it unbelievably well. It was fair to say that I was astounded. I mean, since when has Max been able to sing? The singing I had ever heard her whisper were the few lullabies she used to murmur as she held Gazzy and Angel to get them to sleep when they were babies.

They loved her- everyone in this room loved her. Her eyes were closed right now- lashes that usually framed her pretty eyes now brushed against her flawless skin. I was transfixed. She started dragging others up instead, returning to the bar resuming her friendly banter with those both behind and across it.

She went back up a few more times- not by her choice but by sheer public demand. Then she announced that she was leaving. The upset at this present in those in the audience was instantly noticeable. I knew because I was one of them- it was so easy to lose myself in her perfect voice and forget about the pressing questions I needed to ask and the troubles that plagued my mind.

"There's a tradition in this bar for all of you who don't know it. A song that I sing last thing before I go home every night-"

A red-faced man stood up from his seat, waving his arms. Clearly he was drunk, but he obviously felt very passionately about what he was saying. "Now hush up you lot, this here is important. Quiet now, ya hear?!" Any slight murmuring vanished instantly, eyes keenly focused on the stage and the formidable smiling woman standing on it.

"As I was saying," Max smiled warmly. "There's a song that I always sing last. It's very important to someone here so it's always dedicated to her. This her favourite song, it was played at her wedding and just about every other function she could try to squeeze it into! So I would like to invite someone up on stage to help me out in introducing this song."

A small boy with mousey hair clambered up from behind the bar and I noticed that there was already a microphone adjusted to his small level. "Hi," he said shyly as Max put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm Jake and this is my mum's favourite song ever so my friend Max said she would sing it for me for my mum even though she said it's not really a karaoke song. My dad is going to play the piano and Max is going to sing Angel by S-s-Sarah McLachlan for my Mam Margie coz she loves the song and Max is really cool and I think she sings like the people on the radio." Max chuckled and mussed up the young boy's hair before pointing to a plump woman behind the bar who had was smiling broadly. So that was Margie.

I had no time to think anymore of it though because at that moment haunting piano notes filled the silent room and a pure, angelic voice began to sing. It wasn't a karaoke song, but the quivering notes rendered the entire room silent as Max's voice stretched to every corner. My jaw had dropped a little so that my mouth was gaping open. Holy- whoa.

_## You spend all your time waiting, for that second chance  
for that break that will make it okay  
there's always some reason to feel not good enough  
and its hard at the end of the day  
I need some distraction  
oh beautiful release  
memory seeps from my veins  
let me be empty and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight_

_In the arms of the angel  
fly away from here  
from this dark, cold hotel room  
and the endlessness that you fear  
you are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie  
you're in the arms of the angel  
may you find some comfort here............##_

It seemed out of place in this cosy bar but I could tell that not one person wasn't moved, touched or awestruck by the amazingly pure voice that spread to every corner of the building and beyond. People were so dazzled that Max had already muttered a thank you, scuffed up Jake's hair once more and hugged Margie before they could explode into an uproar of applause and cheer. Modestly she made her way past the standing ovation of young and old who were all screaming her praises. I stood just before she brushed past my table.

I laid my hand on her arm and leaned into her. "I think it's about time we talked Max," I said calmly into her ear recovering my voice.

Her wide, shocked eyes met mine with a look of despair and what I would almost call fear if it hadn't been Max.

Maximum Ride didn't show fear.

But right now I could tell she wanted to run. Run from me. I tightened my grip on her arm and resignation flooded the deep orbs of her shining eyes.

Score.


	8. Chapter 8

_Here's chapter 8! I know I sound like a broken record but huge thanks again to all readers and reviewers! Don't forget to let me know what you think =] _

**~Max POV~**

"I think it's about time we talked Max," his calm voice crept into my ear, immediately blocking all other sound from the packed bar. The warbling trio of girls on stage faded away into nothingness and all I could hear was his voice. All I could see were his eyes , all I could feel was his inescapable grip on my wrist, and all I wanted to do was run. Run far and run fast, never looking back. My heart was pounding in my ribcage at an alarming rate that couldn't possibly be healthy. _No, no ,no, he couldn't be here._

But at that moment- with his hand tight around mine and his determined, stoic glare- I knew that he wasn't just going to leave. That had been wishful thinking in the highest degree, I should have known him better. This was Fang- stubborn as I was, my once upon a time Second in Command. I should have remembered what he was like instead of trying to convince myself that it had ended when my apartment door slammed shut. Like I said, wishful thinking.

"We talk and then you leave. You leave and don't tell any of the Flock what you learn. You leave and let things lie the way they are. They're my conditions, its that or nothing." I said after pulling him outside into the cold night air.

His deep eyes penetrated mine and he nodded hesitantly with a tangible degree of reluctance. We walked in tense silence to my apartment.

**~Fang POV~  
**  
We were walking to her apartment. She made me agree to keep quiet, but at least I would know what was going on... That was all that mattered at this stage- I could work out a loophole for the other conditions later. I followed her at the brisk pace she had set, the wind gently teasing her blonde hair. Her jaw was set, her spine rigid and her eyes cold and troubled. As expected- she was not happy.

She fumbled with the keys to the apartment, still not so much as glancing at me. Max paused at the door and reluctantly let me enter. Clearly the temptation of slamming the door in my face once more was still highly appealing. My eyes swept the abode- a bedroom, a sitting room with a TV, stereo, couch and armchair. A black punch bag dangling from the ceiling, a wooden table and chairs in the kitchen. It was nice. It was empty. A house, not a home.

Max gestured to the couch and busied herself getting us glasses of water. Setting them on a small coffee table I hadn't noticed she sat down on the armchair. "What do you want to know?" she asked, direct and straight to the point. Chit chat was not an option here.

"Everything." I replied simply.

"Being specific would help, you want my life story? Well, I was raised in a lab by evil scientists who-"

"Everything after you left me at my parents' place."

"Well that helps," she said sarkily. It was an act- this wasn't her usual sarcasm. She was hiding behind this. I looked at her, letting her know she wasn't fooling me.

She put her head in her hands and sighed. "Fang.... Just forget about it all, please. I had my reasons... I have my reasons... You don't-"

"I do," My voice interrupted shortly "I want to know. I'm not leaving until I do."

"Look Fang, Ari's back okay! So are the Erasers. But it's under control. I have it under control. The Flock is safe- so long as you keep your mouth shut and don't try any stupid heroics. They know where everyone lives, they won't hesitate to kill every single one of you if I don't uphold my end of the bargain. So just forget you ever saw me, forget about the Erasers and let me deal with this."

"Deal with it by letting that animal use you?" I bit back with bitter confrontation.

Max leant forward. "You have no idea what you are talking about." she hissed through ferociously clenched teeth. "Don't you dare sit there and judge me, without this you would be dead. I would go through anything for my Flock, and they sure as hell weren't going to die on my watch. They never will. So don't sit there and judge me when you have no idea what you are talking about. They are my family- they're like my own kids and sure, this might be hurting them a little right now, but they are alive and that's all that matters."

"Why do they have to be hurting Max? Why can't we just patch up this stupid argument- give everyone what they want?" I asked desperately. I was pleading. I was begging. Fang does not beg, he never has. Maybe I just wasn't Fang anymore… Just like Max wasn't really Max. We had changed, and not necessarily for the better. But deep down, old traits died hard: Max would still sacrifice everything for us, and I would still do anything to save her. Maybe that wasn't always a good thing either- just look at where it had gotten us this time.

"You can't have the best of both worlds Fang. This works- this gives me a reason to stay away."

"You mean.... All this fighting and avoiding each other… It was just..."

"Fang, please!" Her voice broke as she cut me off abruptly. She didn't want to admit it, she didn't want the complete truth to leak out. Tears of desperation brimmed in her eyelids. "Forget about all this- try to go back to the way things were! Please. Pretend to hate me, for your sake, for their sake!" Max was begging again too. Maximum Ride who would rather backtalk a megalomaniac with a double barrel pointed at her forehead then dare to beg for her life… Damn it, this was all so wrong on so many levels.

"I could never hate you Max," I mumbled.

"Then pretend!" she screeched.

I moved forward, to hold her. Comfort her, like I used to when she got scared. I was the only one to ever hold that honour- to see our Leader at her worst when fear and insecurity dug its ugly claws into her. No one ever got to hold her and comfort her like I did. Fang was always the only one allowed to see her like that, the only one allowed to comfort her. But she stood up, turned her back to me and walked away.

"Don't Fang. Just... don't. Don't make this hard. Don't make it any worse then it has to be."

She was opening a small cabinet and extracting what appeared to be a shoe box. It was a big, silvery cardboard rectangle with a lid that would have been used to hold a present- perhaps for Christmas or a birthday. It shimmered in the light emanating from above, metallic patterns flickering.

"Take it and go." She muttered, pushing it into my hands. "Forget what I told you, forget what you heard, forget what you saw. Never, ever let Angel know. Block your mind and keep this knowledge buried deep at the back."

My hands closed around the box. "Max, you can't expect me to leave! Not after this! We can take them Max. I know now; we can take the rest of the Erasers together-"

"No. We really can't." Her eyes went vague for a minute and she looked haunted.

"But Ari, Max! I swear to God I'll kill him." Fury surged through me at the mere mention of his name and memory of his voice.

Her head tilted up towards me and when she spoke her voice was low but firm. "You do that and you kill them all. You do that and you kill The Flock. You kill me and you."

She paced over to the door and I was compelled to follow. Max wearily pulled it open. "I have my reasons Fang. You have to leave all this behind you- leave everything you learned here with me and forget about both. I'm sorry Fang. Goodbye."

I reached into my pocket as I stepped through the door. Pulling out the flat, plastic rectangle, I passed it to her. "Makes me think of you." Her slender fingers held it tightly. She flinched back as I leant forward to whisper my parting words in her ear. My final request, my final promise.

The door began to inch closed. "Goodbye Max."

It finally shut and I heard no reply.

With my mysterious box I trudged down the stairs to my car. Not trusting myself to look back at Apartment 105. My head swirled and I pounded the steering wheel with all I had. It didn't help, it didn't make me feel better- but I kept walloping my fists off it. Its hard form hurt my hands..... but it didn't hurt enough. And it didn't make me forget.


	9. Chapter 9

_Okay, here is chapter 9! I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think! A massive THANK YOU to everyone that reads, reviews and adds me to 'Favourites'! You guys are great, seriously!  
_

**~Fang POV~**

It had been a week since I had left Max. My recon mission had not gone as well as I had hoped. Things were pretty much back at Square One, except now I felt worse then ever. The secrets I had uncovered, the horrid truths I had unveiled had left me broken up.

Just as I expected I hadn't heard one word from her. The silver box she gave me was opened as soon as I got home that night. I wearily collapsed on the couch, sinking into the dark leather and hesitantly lifted off the lid. There were bundles of paper inside- envelopes to be exact. The cards held within were now propped up all around my house. A large, colourful birthday card on my coffee table; a card wishing me well in my new home adorned my mantelpiece; a congratulations card for the opening of my bird sanctuary sat on top of my TV...

A card for every single thing that had happened since we parted. She never forgot. Max had never stopped caring or thinking of me- unlike the way I had just moved on and tried to leave her behind.

Personal messages in her familiar cursive scrip. Cards- birthday cards, congratulations cards; I wondered where the Congratulations You're The World's Biggest Idiot card was. I guess she forgot that one.

Meeting Max had been a curse and a blessing. Memories both new and old inundated my mind, tore me to shreds and haunted me every minute of every day. I had become an overdramatic, melodramatic fool- a cliché that only Max could reduce me to.

I thought about her constantly now, unable to get her off my mind. I couldn't sleep, couldn't concentrate... just couldn't full stop. The cruel memories plagued me incessantly. I felt torn. I wanted to speak to her, to watch her smile... and I knew that if I wanted to respect her wishes, I couldn't.

**~Max POV~ **

I stared blankly into my mirror. The hard, cold, shiny surface where my own stern face glared back at me. I wasn't a vain person- far from it- but I couldn't tear my eyes away. This wasn't just a reflection, this was a wake-up call. A dark purple bruise stained my cheek. A blossoming blotch that was too tender to touch. As I stared, it spurred me on to take action. To make a plan and carry it out swiftly before it was too late.

Try as I might I couldn't get Fang's words out of my head as I glared at my damaged skin. The words he whispered in my ear as he handed me the plastic CD case.

_"I'm always going to be here Max... No matter what. Whatever you need... I want to be the person you turn to... I will always be here, don't forget that…"  
_  
The feel of his breath on my ear still tickled me hauntingly. An echo of a touch, a ghostly shadow that made me shiver.

Throwing some clothes into a duffel bag, I began dialling numbers on my cell.

**~Fang POV~ **

Why does the phone always ring just as you're about to eat dinner? I sighed, giving my steaming dinner a fleeting, wistful glance and grabbing the phone.

"Hello?" I said by way of greeting.

"It's me."

"Max?!"

"The one and only." her voice was direct and businesslike. No nonsense. "I'm doing it your way. I need you to watch the Flock for me. If things start to go wrong, call me. I'll talk to you when this is all over."

"No! Max, no! Do not hang up on me! Max?!" I called frantically.

"What?" her tone was frustrated now.

"I can't let you do this alone, Max. Don't ask me to let you do this alone. I can't. I need to be part of this." It was the truth, I couldn't let myself sit this one out. It was a fight that I needed to fight on the front lines. It was my fight as much as hers.

"Fang…… I..." She wasn't buying it, she was going to refuse and the only reason she hadn't done it yet was because she was trying to think up a good enough excuse.

"Come here." I said quickly, trying to beat her to it. "You need somewhere to stay, to rest up and prepare. Max, this makes sense and you know it…… Max?"

She gave a resigned sigh. It wasn't difficult to imagine her deep-set scowl as she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'll see you in the morning." She murmured quietly. The line at the other end clicked.

'I'll see you in the morning.' I grinned.

A battle was coming. Things were getting back to normal. Max and Fang fighting together like old times. On the same side and fighting the same enemy. Maybe my recon mission was such a failed disaster as I had primarily thought.

There was just one thought in my mind making me smile widely. Ari was mine. I was going to finish him once and for all. He would finally pay for what he had done to all of us and I would exact the punishment.

_Oh yes_, I smirked, _Ari was mine_.

****

~Max POV~

I hung up with a sigh and threw my phone on the bed with enough force to bust through the mattress. What had I done? I didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this. Only four minutes into the plan, and I had already completely changed the plan. That wasn't how it worked! It was supposed to be a simple phone call- tell Fang to watch out for the Flock, hang up and move onto Phase Two. Making an agreement to move in with Fang was not listed anywhere in that plan! I was losing touch… I was seriously losing my touch.

The worst part was knowing that this would make things harder for both of us. He didn't deserve this renewed pain anymore then I deserved his hospitality. But in the fight for good, sometimes you don't always get what you deserve and you just have to shoulder the pain of your own sacrifices. It was a necessary move, and it was the only choice left open to me at this stage. I wasn't looking for forgiveness, and I knew I would never get it or deserve it… but when you are hurting so badly already, a little more pain couldn't really add too much insult to injury…

This would hurt us both.

I should have stuck to the plan.


	10. Chapter 10

_Incoming!! Max arrives at Chez Fang =] Big shout out to everyone reading, reviewing and adding to favourites! Love ye guys =]_

**~Max POV~  
**  
My arms were dead weights and my wings felt like lead. My bruised ribs weren't helping matters. Each single feather seemed to droop with an added ton weight. I needed to shower and sleep- very badly. But I was already resigned to the fact that I wouldn't be getting much of either in the days to follow. However, the exhaustion had set in after my flight and I felt utterly weary and completely wrecked.  
So this was what crawling back with your tail between your legs felt like. Although, is it really crawling back if you were invited?... Anyway, I can't say I liked the feeling. I didn't really know what I was going to do after I walked through the door to the lovely bungalow in front of me. First of all I had to actually walk up _to _the door.

I needed a plan. Well, Plan Number 1: train, get in shape for what awaited me, and then…… Then things would really get going.

"Hey." Fang's familiar face greeted me at the door. His jet black hair hung down over his eyes like it always had, but it was shorter and tamer now. He pushed it back in a quick, fluid movement. His eyes took in the two large duffle bags in my hands and the big rucksack on my back. "Ever hear of public transport?" he asked incredulously.

"That obvious I flew all the way, huh?" I ran a hand through my messy hair that I could tell looked only a fraction as dishevelled as I did in general.

"Yup! Come on in." Fang took my bags with ease and started to walk inside.

"No. Wait," I heard myself say, wrapping my fingers around his wrist. "I can't stay here, not without saying a few things first."

His eyes were boring into mine. Trying to focus on me, and not the hand that rested on his. His eyes flickered occasionally to his wrist.

"I think things, well, didn't go very well last time we met. We left things on a bad foot, not just last week… Maybe... maybe, we could start over?" I gazed up- he now stood half a head taller then me, as he looked down at me his jet black hair tumbled over his forehead, brushing his eyelashes.

"My thoughts exactly. Let's opt for honesty from now on. Now, come on, let's go inside."

It wasn't fair that he looked so good... Banishing that ridiculous thought -that was no doubt the result of stress and overdoing my flying- from my mind, I entered the house.

It was nice. Homely, even. The opposite of where I had been living lately- this was a home not just a house. One glance at the walls told me that someone else had decorated for him- the hallways were cream coloured, brightened up with framed paintings. Paintings! In Fang's house! So not Fang's decision.

He discarded my duffle bags in the hall and I shrugged off my rucksack. The hallway led us to a sitting room that was adjoined to the kitchen. Cushy leather couches and a flat screen television, a coffee table and magazine rack.

This was so weird on so many counts.

This was where Fang lived.

* * *

**~Fang POV~  
**

"So how did you end up here?" I asked. Max was sitting on my couch, I almost felt like pinching myself- who would've thought that after all this time and after everything that had happened, Max would be sitting in my house on my couch. Just sitting there, her legs folded up under her and her head resting on the upright leather arm. It was surreal- in a good way.

Max's face became stony and her hand dug into the mock leather seat. "Things went slightly downhill after your visit."

I cocked an eyebrow as if to say- you know I won't accept that, I need details.

"Ari found out about your unexpected visit to the city and he didn't exactly like it." She admitted.

Max was looking at the floor. Fidgeting. Quiet and slightly… timid? I missed smart-alec Max: quick to answer, fiery. How had things gone so so wrong? This was surreal in a bad way.

"Anyway, long story short he attacked me and I came here." She said with pretend flippancy.

I gazed at her critically. "What happened the whole honesty and telling the truth policy?"

"He took Jake okay. He threatened the kid so I attacked him. He barely touched me and then I came here. Now I am here and it's over so it doesn't matter."

"And the kid?" I felt compelled to ask.

"Ari didn't morph. The whole thing happened in Margie's place while I was babysitting. The police are doing an inquiry- I left. They have no idea where I am."

Damn it, I thought, they would think Max was to blame. Her behaviour was too suspicious to lead them to any other conclusions… my visit had just shattered her new life. That wasn't the worst thing though, that wasn't what made me feel guilty. The fact that I didn't feel bad or guilty for ruining that lie was the guilt-inducing aspect in all of this. Sure, I felt sorry for the kid- but it made Max come back… I am so twisted. My bird-kid ass was heading straight to hell. I realised that fact a long time ago but this definitely clarified it.

Max turned, gaze sweeping the room. "So... when do I get the guided tour?" Her tone was light and carefree... and fake. "Come on," she urged. "I'm dying to see this place!"

I smiled. Max was here, maybe things were starting to look up. Maybe this was our chance to right the wrongs. We all knew there were a lot of them, but you had to hope. Guess my mission wasn't a total failure after all. Things could only get better and I was going to make them better.

"Follow me Ma'am."


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11 has now arrived! Thank you for everything guys- reading, reviewing, adding to favourites!!! Let me know what you think! Glad to hear that you are enjoying it! Aslan are an Irish band, their song Crazy World is probably their most famous- it always made me think of Fang and Max... I do not own the song nor do I have any affiliation to it. Lyrics are in italics- merely to emphasise the point of how Fang feels. Enjoy =]_

**~Max POV~**

The sanctuary was amazing. Fang had set up a bird sanctuary a few months ago and I had been dying to see it ever since I had heard. The entire place was unbelievable- I was like a little kid in a sweetshop being brought around. Fang found it hilarious but I knew that he was proud of himself too. It shone in his face- not only in his eyes but in the way he allowed small smiles to slip through his cracked stony façade. I couldn't say I missed it. New, smiley, humorous Fang kind of had one up on old, moody, introverted Fang.

It turned out that it was the sanctuary that had led him to me. One of the kids I had helped to find his biological parents- Tom- had come to take some pictures for a nature magazine and noticed my photo on the mantelpiece when Fang had invited him inside for a drink. Yeah, I had been partially telling the truth- I did work with homeless kids, helping them to find their families and getting them set up in work and school. I figured if fighting crazy, evil people wasn't really an option on my possible career choices as a normal person, I could at least do something I was good at. I was good at finding people that couldn't be found. I was good at finding orphan's parents.

I could remember Tom with clarity- he was a scrawny kid with wide doe eyes. I first met him while teaching a self-defence class (I'm pretty good at that too, in case you didn't get the memo.) We got talking after class when he helped me to pack away the blue, foam practice mats. Four lessons later and I heard his life story. He moved into my spare room for five weeks while I searched for his family. In the end, I found his mother and made the customary check-up on her with Tom in tow. Like most, she opened her doors to him and yet another kid had a happy ending.

So when Tom had enquired about how Fang knew me, Fang had pretended that we were old friends who had lost touch and managed to glean an address from the innocent fellow. Who was a kid who had lost all his family in the past to refuse the chance to reunite long-lost friends? I tried to blame Tom, but in a strange way I was starting to feel a sense of gratitude towards him. I never dared to think that anything could ever bring me back to Fang, it seemed funny that it had been such a blind blip of fortune. To be honest, I never wanted to find Fang again and when he first turned up at my door, I felt like my entire world was crashing down. And it was- all those lies crumbled to pieces when he found out those tiny fragments of truth. With them, the burden and fear fell off my back. Fang was back in my life, there was little I could do to change it now… and little that made me want to.

The house was absolutely perfect too. A spacious bungalow with cosy furnishings, stocked shelves and high-tech accessories. Fang really had it made. Who would have thought that a winged kid could ever live out the American Dream.

I was lying on a luxurious double bed in "my room"- a pale, russet coloured room like a burnished autumn leaf. The bed sheets were white with red wavy lines stitched into the fabric, the curtains matched. A wooden bedside locker was paired with matching wardrobes in the same shade as the bed frame. Martha Stewart had gone into freaking overdrive in here! It was straight out of a home-décor magazine. Sometimes when I touched the furniture I was afraid it would feel shiny and then I would wake up and realise I was just lying on my crappy couch in my empty apartment looking at a stupid glossy magazine and dreaming.

As I lay on the bed, soaking up the feeling of complete relaxed calm, the CD Fang had given me played softly in the background. A stereo had thoughtfully been left in the corner.

Fang said it made him think of me. Crazy World by Aslan. I had never even heard of the band before, but it came as no shock whatsoever that this song reminded Fang of me. It was fitting that he thought of me in this way. He had, after all, been my 'protector' of sorts in the past. And we certainly lived in a Crazy World. I lay back and closed my eyes, letting the music wash over me and drown out my own rambling thoughts. I had learned to make the most of the good times- they disappeared far too fast for my liking. And this- this was too good to be true.

* * *

**~Fang POV~ **

As I walked in from the yard I could hear music playing in Max's room down the hall. I smirked wryly as I realised it was my CD. The CD I had slid into Max's hand back at her apartment. It had intentionally been meant as a gift. Proof that I hadn't forgotten her and an insight into how much she plagued my mind. How much she drove me crazy with worry when she was out of sight. It was never meant to be a parting gift as I whispered goodbye. It made me smirk to see it being used for its original purpose. How fitting it was, Max could never mistake the meaning in these lyrics.

_How can I protect you in this crazy world?  
It's alright yeah, it's alright_

_I have fallen down so many times  
Dunno why, dunno where  
Don't care less, it's all the same_

_I have travelled through so many towns  
Dunno why, dunno where  
Don't care less its all the same_

_How can I protect you in this crazy world?  
Its alright yeah, its alright_

_Can you hear the sound of nothing?  
Nothing's wrong, nothing's right  
Don't care less its all the same  
Love is blind, love is real  
Don't ya know that love is what you feel?  
It's alright, yeah, it's alright_

_When the talking's over  
All the crowd has gone  
Nothing left I can do  
Am I ever gonna get through to you?  
It's alright, yeah, it's alright_

_How can I protect you  
When all the crowd have gone  
Now your party's over  
All this world is wrong  
It's alright yeah  
How can I protect you in this crazy world  
It's alright  
Yeah  
It's alright._

I thanked the day that lanky, red-headed teenager walked into my living room. I clapped myself on the back everyday for asking him inside. I praised my lucky stars for the hot weather that made going inside for drinks a necessity. Tom was his name, he couldn't stop gushing about how great Max was. Singing her praises over and over- she was amazing, she had given him a future, she was a saint... He wore a silver pendant of a wing on a chain- apparently Max gave it to him after finding his mother. He never took it off, he never wanted to forget. It showed him that after years of bitterness towards the world that abandoned him to fend for himself, that some people could restore his hope. She restored his life and his family. But when he gave me that address, he had restored mine.

That was my Max: unforgettable, heroic, selfless and indescribable_._


	12. Chapter 12

_Another slightly bittersweet Max chapter. But after everything she has been through, she kind of deserves the whole bittersweet element if you ask me! To answer questions: the Flock will be in this but only at the end and Fang has packed all the cards from Max away- well for now anyway. You'll see! Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing and adding to favourites! You guys are great!! Let me know your views on this chapter! Enjoy =]_

* * *

**~Max POV~**

"Come on, get in the car!" Fang was grinning. No, that is not a typo, Fang was smiling. Widely. With teeth. Big, white, shiny teeth! It was a sight I never truly thought I would ever live to witness. He was grinning. Actually grinning. He should do it more often...

"It's not a car, it's a jeep." My arms were folded across my chest as I glared at the big, shiny, coal black Jeep running in front of me. I was sulking. We were going to his parent's house. Fang's freaking parents' house! For dinner. Like… like… a stupid introduce your parents to your Family Leader and Commander, also known as Best Friend (formerly, at any rate) meal of some sorts. It was absurd. So I was sulking. Just because I was being forced into this did not mean I had to be happy about it. Happy was pretty much the opposite of the expression on my face right now.

I was wearing a long green top and jeans. Kind of dressy- in a casual way.

I felt ridiculous. Like an impostor. Anyone would think that I was normal. A happy, teenage girl on her way to the library or something. Or a party. I only ever went to libraries to research information on crazy, power-hungry men who wanted to take over the world so that I could stop them! And I never went to parties. Never. Fang, on the other hand, was still smiling- maybe at my sulking. He actually did look like he was going to a party in his usual attire of a classic black shirt and dark washed jeans.

"This is ridiculous. I need to train," I argued adamantly.

"No," Fang said with a tone of finality. "You don't. You are in perfect shape. In a few days we're going to be fine. It'll be over soon."

I could tell by the gleam in his eye that in his head he was thinking 'Ari will be over soon.' It filled me with dread, he was going to try to be the hero...

I gave up, and hopped into the passenger seat grudgingly. "Glad to see your driving skills improved," I muttered darkly, as we turned down the driveway. Then I promptly came close to fainting: he actually threw back and laughed! I was in an alternate universe. Had to be. Any minute now Marvin The Martian would zoom past in a miniature spaceship and Superman would start selling lemonade on the roadside.

I made a big show of peering out of all the windows. "What are you doing?" Fang asked, sounding very puzzled.

"Looking for flying pigs: you're laughing."

I don't believe it! He laughed again! Its a good thing he was driving, I would have crashed by now. He was a clone. Yup, that was it. It wasn't Fang at all, it was a clone. Either that or he just found it unbelievably hilarious that I was going to pay a social visit to his family for dinner. Then again I had to admit, it was pretty funny. It was too normal.

We pulled up at a redbrick two-storey. There were flowers in pots everywhere and it was surrounded by green fields that seemed to never end. Fang's parents' house was gorgeous. Only five minutes down the road- the jeep had been pretty pointless. We could have flown that in a second… then again, that wouldn't exactly be normal now, would it? The door swung open revealing a middle-aged woman with auburn hair. Slightly plump, short hairstyle and rosy cheeks- Fang's mom. She looked really happy.

"Nick!" she trilled. "Come in, come in!" she hugged him briefly as he stood statue still (nice to know some things hadn't changed!) Then she turned her attention to me and hugged me too. That was unexpected. I was enveloped in a light cloud of her floral perfume. "Come on in dear, you're very welcome to our house. Nick's told us sooo much about you!"

He had?? Why would he do something like that?

"Thank you, Mrs. Holden. I hope you haven't gone to too much trouble or anything." From what I had seen of daytime TV- this seemed to be the standard, formal line for situations like this. Fang had slunk inside, leaving me at the door with his mother- traitor.

What on earth was I supposed to say to this woman? She was lovely and all, but- I'm not good in these kind of situations. At least 82% of the people I have met in my life I have ended up threatening or punching. And that's not good.

"Nonsense! And call me Marie. I'm just going to go and set up the dinner. Just go into the sitting room, Nick will introduce you to everyone." With that she bustled into what I presumed was the kitchen. I stood in the hall flabbergasted. If I edged towards the door right now, I could still make a run for it. It wasn't too late yet.

"Nicholas Holden! Where are your manners?!" the woman demanded from the kitchen.

"Sorry Mum." I heard him yell from the other room. 'Mum'… man, that sounded weird. Fang strolled into the hall, "Come on in," he said turning back into the sitting room with a wry smile.

Okay, seriously needed to get over his smile. He was smiling- so what? It wasn't _that _big of a deal. Sheesh, snap out of it woman!

There were two dark haired people lounging on the couches. A man and a teenage girl. I could remember their names from my file. But I pretended not to.

The man stood up and gave my hand a hearty shake welcoming me to the house. He told me to call him Jon- Fang's dad Jonathon. The sixteen year old with long, sleek, raven hair was his sister Allie. Her eyes were framed with maroon-rimmed, rectangular glasses. I sat rigidly beside Fang, feeling awkward with my eyes cast to the floor. We watched a football match on the television and made small talk until Marie called us for dinner.

Walking to the table, I noticed photos of Fang on the walls. Family pictures. Recent. I never had many photos. There were one or two of the Flock from some time when we had managed to get our hands on a camera. They were frayed and faded and utterly adored. Sometimes the younger ones sent me a snapshot or two, but I knew that there were no pictures of the Flock on their walls like this. They would have portraits of their own families, not their old one. There would be no pictures of me.

Fang's family was amazing. The dinner was so nice that a part of me wished that it would never end. I spent most of the meal laughing at Jon who turned out to be quite funny. The atmosphere was amazing. They were incredible. Fang was lucky, and I just hoped he realised it.

"NICK!!" Everyone whirled around. The excited scream had come from a small blonde girl in lilac pyjamas who looked to be about five years old. I had no idea who she was. Fang obviously did though; he stood up and she jumped into his arms, clinging to him with a large toothy grin. He spun her around making her giggle outrageously.

"I think you're supposed to be in bed, Rosie," Fang teased.

She pouted and batted her eyelashes.

"Five minutes," he reasoned. Hah, sucker! It was like the Bambi eyes all over again. Fang set her down on the couch beside me. "This is my cousin Rosie," He said with joyful pride.

"I'm staying over. My Mum and Dada said I could!" I smiled at her, cute little thing.

"I'm Max." I stuck my hand out and we shook.

"Are you Nick's girlfriend?" she looked up at me hopefully.

"No, we're friends."

"Oh okay. Are you my friend too?" She asked innocently. She reminded me of Angel as a kid. Except without the wings, the mind-reading abilities and talking dog. Hmmm, yeah okay maybe they weren't all that alike after all...

"Definitely." I got the impression that people were staring at me but I didn't look up to verify my suspisicions.

"Rosie! Bed time!" Marie had walked back into the room. She had flat out refused to let me help clear things away after dinner, but not before chastising Fang for warning her to keep me away from the kitchen. He had been laughing as he explained that kitchens and me didn't really mix. I shot him an evil glare to the amusement of Marie. With complete seriousness, he told me that he had been worried that I would die from unintentional self poisoning while living alone. I scoffed and hit him upside the head. Well that wouldn't happen..... there was a Burger King right around the corner. And a bakery.

"Allie, will you take Rosie up to bed please?" Marie asked as she sank into the couch.

"I can do it if you like," I offered. Now that was something I could do.

"Yay! Come on! I'll show you my teddy bear and my room and-" She was waaaaaay too excited to sleep, I knew from experience.

"Max, you really don't have to," Marie interrupted. I assured her that it was my pleasure as Rosie began to drag me up the stairs. Fang was trying not to smirk, I caught him though.

Rosie worshipped him. She held up a little blue bear with silver wings. Fang had given it to her, it reminded me of Celeste; the little bear that now sat on Angel's dresser. My little girl's bedside locker, my little Angel. No- not my little Angel, someone else's little Angel now. I had been right; Rosie couldn't sleep, so she talked... mostly about Fang. She was his personal little fan club.

Some time later, the darkly dressed winged boy himself crept into the room. I was sitting on the bed holding the little blue bear in my hands and watching the curled up sleeping form beside me. The blankets were gently rising and falling around her. Thousands of memories of thousands of nights on watch, spent keeping an eye on my little Angel as she slept in the same manner surfaced in my mind. Rosie was lucky, she had everything my Angel should have had when she was this age- innocence, parents, a bed and a place to call home. I just sat there watching her, alone with my thoughts.

Fang gently touched my shoulder, giving me an understanding sympathetic smile.

"I want to go." I barely managed to cut myself off before I whispered the taboo word. I had nearly said 'home'. That wasn't where we were going. Not for me. I just wanted to go back to that place where I had a bed to sleep in for the next few days.

Wordlessly, we returned to the sitting room downstairs to say our farewells.

We had arrived shortly after 8 in the evening. It was gone midnight when we left.


	13. Chapter 13

_For everyone who has been asking what Max's plan is... here is the beginning of it! Not a lot of action in this chapter- just Max's thoughts and plans. There will be mroe action in later chapters but I though that this was a necessary insight into how Max is thinking right now. Huge thank yous again!! Let me know what you thiunk of this chapter- slightly boring chapter in my opinion but I felt it had to be done =] _

* * *

**~Max POV~**

"Are you okay?" Fang sounded concerned. I could see it mar his face and wrinkle his scrunched up forehead. We had just returned from the Holden's home. The entire journey back in the jeep was spent in crushing silence. Something about it all made my throat constrict and my lungs have difficulty breathing. We were now sitting on opposite leather seats, sipping coffee by the fireside. My, but weren't we getting sophisticated. Next thing it would be Cosmopolitan's at a swanky club. Yeah right.

I shot him a large, fake smile. "Great!" I beamed.

I don't think he believed me. He was the only one that wouldn't. Fang always could see through all my pretences so easily- the reason I had left him in the first place. I could never risk him finding out my dreadful secrets- and he would. My lies wouldn't have lasted a day- they wouldn't even have to be spoken and somehow Fang would see through them. And now I was lying again, but this time he was here and he could see through me as easily as someone could see through a polished windowpane.

The truth was that I wasn't great, I wasn't even okay. Guilty and selfish would be more apt descriptions. Just seeing Fang with his family had convinced me of that. The way they laughed, they way they had been chatting and joking together. The way Fang had hugged his mum and Rosie...

What kind of person would risk jeopardising that? They had lost each other once, they couldn't go through that again. He had a mother now- a mother's love. I could see it in Marie's eyes- losing him would break her. Break her into a million, billion irreparable pieces and leave her empty and distraught. And I of all people could understand that. No one could understand that feeling better then I did. I had gone through it more times then I would wish to admit. I had watched the ones I reared, the ones I loved, walk away and into the arms of someone that could be a loving mother to them in ways I never could. Even untouchable Maximum Ride could admit to pain like that, and I would never wish it on anyone.

Fang had family now- he wasn't just a lone wolf that could disappear and fight battles with no consideration for others. He wasn't surrounded by other fighters now, this was no longer just about our little Flock. Now there were actually others that needed him and worried for him, who wouldn't understand the dangerous recklessness that came hand in hand with our past lives. They would never recover if anything were to happen to him. It would tear them all apart, just like his arrival had brought them together.

What kind of person would risk ruining all those lives just to help themselves? What kind of person would let Fang fight?

At that moment I knew I wasn't going to be that person. Fang had always been mine. He had been my Second In Command, my Right Hand Man, my Best Friend. Mine to order about, mine to run to in a crisis... It was time to give someone else a chance to call the greatest person I had ever met their own. It was time to stop being selfish. I had to go this alone, a soldier to the end.

I was surprised at how sure I was that I could do this on my own. I knew my enemy, I knew that even with the Flock I would be hopelessly outnumbered. Alone, it was ridiculous. The images of all those burly, muscled, bloodthirsty Erasers made me shiver- an army that chilled me deep to the bone. But I also knew that to do this would end everything, and the Flock could finally rest assured that they were safe. I was born to fight. I had been designed and engineered to fight all opposition. And more then that- I had been built to succeed… or die trying. Failure had never been an option and selfishness was going out of fashion.

For now I would stick it out here. Train up, get ready, get a plan. Then I would just have to leave. Plots were formulating in my mind at a startling pace. I had no idea how to get rid of Fang, but I knew that when the time called for it I would manage to do it. Marie and Jon would never have to grieve at their son's graveside. Their son would never fight. I wouldn't let him, and I wouldn't let his family end up hurt because of me.

Sure, it would be hard- but it would be worth it. I had gotten myself into this mess and I would get myself out of it. With no help from my past family. It would be my final gift to them- their ultimate freedom and piece of mind. If I survived this- and I hoped to the heavens that I would- I was finally going to disappear for good. It was what we all needed- the Flock could finally focus on their own families and forget about hurting me with their shows of affection. I could attempt to move on, and Fang could go back to life as it was before he ended up at Apartment 105. It would be best for everyone.

I had to get trained up fast. This was affecting Fang way too much. In his bedroom, all those stupid cards I had written him were propped up against the windowsills and shelves. Every single one- not that he knew that I had seen them. I had been curious to know what his room looked like- but the sight of those cards made me slam the door and run back outside.

He was too involved.

He had brought me to dinner with his freaking parents for crying out loud! I could tell from one look into his deep eyes that his head was full of stupid notions. Fang actually believed, without a doubt, that once we finished off Ari and his cronies, that the Flock would be reunited. He thought that we would all live happily ever after; that everything would go without a hitch, he would get his own back on Ari and it would all be sunshine and daisies. But past lives did not amalgamate with new ones. The world was not perfect- the Flock and the new families would not co-exist. They were separate and would be kept that way. The Flock was in the past- it finished with, and Fang had to accept that. We both had to let go and it seemed like Fang wasn't going to do that without a fight- so I would just have to make it easy for him: I would leave. Bye-bye Max, bye-bye Flock. Hello new life of happiness and carefree living. He had to let me go. It was as simple as that.

Fang was in too deep and he was severely disillusioned. I had to get out and I had to do it fast before the situation got any worse. It would hurt him at first, but I'm sure he would thank me for it someday. Although, he would never see me to actually thank me in person… but the thought would still count.

My newfound courage and determination surprised me, and I had no idea where all my doubts had vanished to. I also had no idea where the old impetuous Max had disappeared to.

Maybe I had grown up after all- Mature me. Who would've thought...


	14. Chapter 14

_Here it is!! Chapter 14!! Wow- thank you so much to everyone reviewing and reading!! kashiena- I'm sorry i made you cry!!!! But that's never happend before as far as I know so thank you! Wow, I never knew my writing could do that to people... well, I often thought my writing could be so bad and awful that it would make people cry- but that's different! More believeable lol!!_

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**~Fang POV~ **

Max was sitting across from me in an armchair sipping coffee- silently. She had been quiet ever since we had left my parents. Actually no- that wasn't true: she hadn't been quiet, she had been silent. Deathly silent as a mute or mime artist. That wasn't good- wasn't all that normal either. It was usually _me_ that sat in silence, not Max. Max planned. Yet, I could tell from her revered state that she wasn't planning right now. No, she was just completely lost in thought. Fully absorbed in her own mind- in thoughts that caused a frown to mar her troubled face.

I could more or less guess what she was thinking about too. Her lack of a family like mine, perhaps... I daydreamed for a minute, letting myself got lost for a short while too.

Daydreaming, imagining Max moving here after the battle.

My parents- my mum especially- loved her. I could tell. Max could have everything here- she could have parents, a house... I would gladly share everything I had with Max without a second's hesitation; my family, my home... even me.

It surprised me that she had no idea what power she held over me. She didn't even realise how far gone I was when it came to her- I was in so deep that to go back would surely break me apart. She had no clue, and I knew that she probably never would. I also knew that it wouldn't change a thing. Weren't there songs about this kind of thing? I was sure that Allie's stereo had played something along those lines- _Hopelessly Addicted? Hopelessly Devoted? Hopelessly Freaking Stupid? _The last one would clearly have been written with me in mind, had it ever been a song.

Max was still silent. Her frown made me want to grimace myself. There had been a time when I knew everything about her- I had known her better then she had known herself. Now I hadn't a clue- it was like looking at a stranger sometimes, it killed me to admit it. But one thought gave me hope- it hadn't been long since I had known Max inside out, and I truly believed that it wouldn't take me long to get back to that stage again. The troubled mute was still trapped in the confines of her own mind. Now would be a good time to remind her that she did have a family. I might not be able to see deep into the depths of her soul anymore, but it didn't take a genius to guess that Max would still be torn up over not being able to find her own family after successfully managing to find everyone else's. now would be a good time to remind her of her family- an opportune time to remind her of the Flock.

"So," I began, awkwardly shattering the weighted silence that had settled down upon us like a thick, smothering blanket. "I was thinking that we should get the rest of the Flock up here soon. Get cracking with a plan. If we could-"

Max gasped loudly and slammed her mug down on the coffee table. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair with such force that her knuckles turned white and the leather creased inward like a tightly-clenched sponge.

I rushed over, kneeling on the floor beside her. "Max? Max, look at me! What's wrong?" I sounded frantic, I felt worse. How did she not manage to realise how much she affected me? If I went around with a sign printed on my forehead that proclaimed _MAX, I NEED YOU _emblazoned on it- I actually think she wouldn't notice.

"I'm...... fine," she managed to gasp. Her entire face was contorted as she tried to draw in panting breaths. Oh hell, she was having a coronary. She was going into cardiac arrest, or having an asthma attack or a brain haemorrhage or… or… something that required a paramedic!

"Yeah right!" I shouted at her. Typical Max- deny the pain. Pain is a message, one could ignore the message even if it was ridiculously obvious. Her face was screwed up in awful, searing discomfort. Her brow furrowed and eyes squeezed shut tightly. Her whole body was rigid, arms digging into the chair so hard that I was surprised the leather didn't bruise.

What was I supposed to do? Ring an ambulance? How would I explain the wings? Or the erratic heartbeat? The bird DNA?! Was this how Max had felt when Ari sliced me in half n the beach? How did she cope?!

Suddenly Max exhaled. The rigid state of her set spine crumbled and her head flopped forward. Her body almost collapsing with the renewed ease it acquired. Releasing the couch with clawed unease, her hands came up to cradle her head. Max's fingers hid her face from me as she continued to breathe in deep irregular heaves.

"Max..." I spoke tentatively. I wanted desperately to reach out and just touch her skin- let her know that I was here for her. Maybe pull her hands away from her face and hold her trembling fingers in mine. But I couldn't. It was hard enough getting her to stay here- try anything like that and she would run for the hills without ever looking back.

"I'm fine," she repeated dismissively, removing her hands and shaking her hair out. "Honestly, it probably won't happen again for a while anyway."

"_What_ won't happen again?!"

Her moist eyes locked with mine. I could see the pain in those dark pools. Damn, but I wanted to be able to make it go away. "The Voice," she answered calmly. "That was me- well, blocking it out."

"You can block it out?" That wasn't what I expected to hear.

"Yeah well it got very annoying and I got fed up of collapsing in a screaming fit of pain. So one day I just snapped, couldn't bear it anymore. Turned out I could block it out. I don't know why." How could she pass this off so flippantly, as though it were nothing?

"This anything to do with Angel not being able to read your mind?" I asked. I had never really known what to make of that.

"Yeah, it happened round the same time. Maybe you should just start calling me Super Brain?"

Joking. Max's way of trying to change the subject. Angel had stopped reading Max's mind over a year ago. The same time we split.

How much of her life had I missed?

Her life or her pain? I couldn't help but ask myself.


	15. Chapter 15

_Well here is Chapter 15! I have got such an amazing response for this! 2470 hits!! There have been such positive reviews, thank you so much!! Once again, just bear in mind that Jeb and Dr. Martinez are **NOT** Max's parents in this Fic. I wrote this before we all knew that! Lol_

_I usually try to reply to reviews through PMs etc, but i can't do that to people who haven't signed in!  
So to max_ride, I would just like to say thank you so so much for your review! You are right though, I know exactly what you mean. This story is very Out Of Character and I probably should have put that in the summary. I understand exactly what you mean when you say "the characters shouldn't be Max and Fang" They are very out of character in their emotions etc. My own interpretations tend to overpower the actual characteristics of the characters lol! Thank you so much for you review max_ride!_

_And to Skye Maxwell, I am adamant that it is Match and not Game.... hee hee!! _

_Anyway, on with the story! As always, let me know what you think- I really appreciate it! =]_

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**~Max POV~**

Today was the day I was starting with my new regime. I had been here long enough. The day I arrived I had just looked around. The day after, I had run through the surrounding fields and visited Fang's family. We hadn't been all that tired when we got home so we decided to have a cup of coffee before bed. A choice I regretted. The darling Voice decided to pay a visit, so now Fang kept glancing at me as though I were going to break like a fragile piece of glass and he would have to catch me. 'Crazy World' was obviously running through his head too.

After breakfast I got sick of his sneaky, anxious glances so I said I was going for a walk around the sanctuary- practically forbidding him from accompanying me. So as I wandered around I planned my new regime- I needed to work on my muscles a bit more. Running for stamina, push-ups, flight tricks, hand-to-hand combat... the usual. I needed to perfect all of them, even though I had kept up my training over the months.

Walking back towards the house, I wondered where Fang was. He was probably hiding in a tree trying to keep an eye on me. He wasn't in the house, the garden or the sanctuary. Then I remembered the gym. Fang had built an adjoining gym to the garage- it was mine to use as I wished, apparently. It was a large, rectangular, white building with a window set into the outward wall. Peering in, I could see my host lashing into a dangling punch bag. The sound of his fists sailing into the heavy equipment with a dull thumping sound.

I pushed open the door and walked in. Just in time to see him fire his shirt across the room...

I bit my lip and began to back out the door once more. "Sorry, I didn't know..."

"Max! Hi!" he sounded flustered and quickly strode over to his shirt. As he bent over to scoop the piece of clothing off the ground, I got a glimpse of his back.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "You got a tattoo!" He froze and winced. He began to pull on his shirt hastily.

"Hey! I want to see it," I protested. It was a Chinese or Japanese symbol etched in black ink against the olive skin of his left shoulder blade.

"What does it mean?" I asked, wishing I could just reach out and trace it. I balled my fists up at my sides to stop myself, resolving to just stare at it until it disappeared beneath the thin material of his shirt.

"Who said it meant anything?" He replied with a raised eyebrow, now fully clothed again.

"It's you- of course it means something. You wouldn't get something meaningless."

He looked resigned. I knew him too well and he knew it. "Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn't." he said cryptically.

I scoffed. "So are you going to tell me what it means then?"

"No."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because you're not ready to know what it means."

"When will I be ready?" I was irritated now.

"I'll let you know." With that he left the gym and went back up to the house, hands stuck in his pockets and whistling teasingly.

I huffed and got to work pounding the now still punch bag to a pulp.

* * *

Two hours later, Fang returned with a freezing cold bottle of water. He tossed it to me and I slid to the floor trying to stop my panting breaths long enough to swallow some of the badly needed liquid.

"You going to tell me about the tatt, now?" I asked through my gasping.

Fang shook his head, his dark locks falling across his eyes like usual. "No."

I scowled over the rim of my water container. "Well, then you can just leave me here until you do!" Over-exercising made me tempestuous and argumentative, personally I always blamed the tiredness that made me crash as soon as I stopped fighting whatever unfortunate inanimate object had been chosen to feel my wrath.

He stood there looking in at me in disbelief. "Nope, go on," I said, waving him off childishly. "Leave me alone."

But he didn't. Instead, he tried to annoy me further. Fang sat down on the ground across from me, staring at me in a way that clearly said '_I know what you are trying to do, and I won't let you._' And I wished that he wouldn't- I wished that he would let me push him away, because if he wouldn't let me push him away over the small things, how was he ever going to let me go in the long run?

"Max, I'm not leaving you alone. You might find it hard to believe, but you're never alone. I know you, Max- maybe not as well as I used to know you, but I still do. And as much as you think you might be alone and as much as you think you don't have a family- it's not true. The Flock is your family, just because we aren't as together as we used to be doesn't make it any less true. We are your family, and maybe you don't have a family like the others' or mine but-"

"Who says I don't, Fang? Who says I don't have a family like yours? You were right, okay, you don't know me as well as you used to. Practically everything you have known about me in the last year has been a lie, haven't you grasped that yet? So don't lecture me on what I have or who I am because, honestly, you just don't know."

The fatigue plaguing my body and weighing down my muscles was making me tetchy. If Fang had any sense he would have just walked away. With wide, troubled eyes, he just sat there- he was a glutton for punishment. We both knew that my temper was running rampant and wasn't going to calm down anytime soon, if he had any regard for his own safety he would have turned on his heel and marched out.

"What do you mean, Max?" he whispered. "You said you couldn't find them. You said… Max, you said they couldn't be found. You searched… you… Damn, Max, stop the lies, would you?! It was you that said we should stick with the honesty policy!"

"Yeah, I said I would tell the truth while I was here- that doesn't mean I have to backtrack on every single thing that has happened over the last year or so." My scowl was deep-set and I turned my head. Short wisps of blonde hair hid my eyes from him.

"Max… Please tell me what you mean. I don't know what you are talking about, but I really want to understand." He was trying to pull off his own version of the Bambi eyes. Deep, concerned, dark pools that bore into my own. It made my anger fade away. Damn, shouldn't have looked up.

I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to reveal this part of my life. It was one of the last secrets that I had kept from the entire world. But he was looking at me with such emotion that I felt like I couldn't lie. And I had promised- I had sworn to tell the truth from now on. Maybe that little clause hadn't been the best of ideas.

"I lied." I said simply. This story would be told with the least amount of emotion possible. A steely, hard façade- a mask of strength. Pity was the last thing I wanted, the one emotion I flinched from in disgust.

"I have a family- just like you have the Holdens. But they don't know. I was born in a small-town hospital to Karen and Adam Nichols. I was their first child. They were told that they lost their first child during childbirth."

Fang was still staring at me sadly, so I turned my gaze to the floor. "There is a graveyard in that tiny town. And at the very back in the right hand corner, there's a white headstone. It's surrounded by teddy bears and little dolls and pretty flowers. Those people love me, Fang, even though they don't know me. They put flowers on that grave every month for me.

"Karen and Adam have moved on. They have two other kids now. But they never forgot me. And if I were to come back to them, it would tear up their lives in so many ways. I don't think I could bear being confined by the constraints of normal living, anyway. I'm not meant to be like that- I don't stay in the same place for long. I don't like feeling trapped. I don't always stay in touch and I hate people being worried about me. So don't tell me I don't have a family, Fang. And don't tell me that I am never alone. I am great at being alone. It's a choice that I like to take advantage of sometimes."

I stood up and threw the bottle to him. He caught it quickly through his haze. "Thank you for the water."

I stalked out and snapped out my wings, beating powerfully up and down towards the forest around Fang's land. Once there, I leaned back against the rough bark of a towering tree and shut my eyes tightly.

__

A choice that I like to take advantage of sometimes.

It was a strange concoction of truth and lies. It was necessary. Maybe this would encourage him to back off a little. I needed him to do that. He was still in too deep and I still couldn't deal with that. I was leaving- he had to accept it, the sooner the better. Alone didn't necessarily have to mean lonely.

I could do this.

Train up, get a plan. Simple.

Just a few more days, that was all. After that… it would be over.


	16. Chapter 16

_Well, here is Chapter 16! Thank you so much for all the positive responses! I so glad (and shocked) that you like this story!! Hope you like this chapter too- and I love to hear from you so please review if you want, I don't mind if you aren't registered/logged in =]_

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**~Fang POV~**

"_Go on," _Max said._ "__Leave me alone"_

As if it were just that simple. Like I could just turn my back on her and walk away. She really was oblivious, she had absolutely no idea.

"_I am great at being alone. It__'__s a choice that I like to take advantage of sometimes." _The message was clear- she was trying to push me away. Still trying to get me out of the picture. Couldn't she get it into her head that I wanted her here? Not just in the short-term, but in the long-term too.

"_Practically everything you have known about me in the last year has been a lie, haven__'__t you grasped that yet?" _

Of course I knew that- it was tearing me up inside for crying out loud. But hadn't we put it behind us? Honesty from here on in, trying to return to that time when we were as close as best friends were supposed to be. And all I had wanted to do was let her know that she wasn't alone- let her know that she me and the Flock. Hell, she even had my own family wrapped around her little finger after one evening! But she didn't see it like that, she saw it as me interfering. Sticking my nose in where it very clearly wasn't wanted.

"_So don__'__t lecture me on what I have or who I am because, honestly, you just don__'__t know__." _

And I knew that too. It was a horrible void between us that never should have existed. A terrible space filled with unsaid words and actions that hadn't been carried out. It was drenched in the sticky mess of lies and untruths.

A family. Karen and Adam Nichols- I never would have dreamed it. It was the one outcome I never would have envisioned when Max started to speak. I never thought Max could lie about something like that- something so crucial, something we had all longed for every minute of every day. She was selfless- too much so. I had always known it- the whole Ari debacle was just one example- but to sacrifice her own happiness yet again, to give up on a family. That was a dream that I never thought Max would relinquish.

Yet she had. Max claimed it was because such a free spirit that she couldn't stand being cooped up with the constraints of family life. It was true- Max liked her space. She never liked to stay anywhere more then once- it was a paranoia that had been instilled in her from many years on the run. She liked to escape and she liked to do it without being fussed over or worried about. But more then anything, Max was a family person. She had raised Angel, Gazzy and Nudge as her own children. We all knew that everyone in the Flock besides me saw her as a maternal figure. She needed to look after people- the street kids she had saved were living testament to that. Even last night at dinner, she had taken care of Rosie after two minutes of learning her name.

She was too considerate of others, too self sacrificing. Thinking it would be easier for everyone if she stayed out of the picture, she had sacrificed her shot at having a family. And she had just sat there, telling her story with a stony face holding no emotion. It had made my eyes sting! I had felt miserable at her words- more so then she had appeared to be. I still couldn't decide whether it was Max being typical Max and blocking out all pain, or whether the last few months had just hardened her more then I would've wished to believe. With fierce desperation, I wished that it was just Max being Max. If it was the latter, I would have my work cut out for me in making her break down those defensive walls. But I would do it.

She was here now and she was here to stay. The sooner she realised it the better.

And so here I was, lying on the gym floor surrounded by the stifling air and going deaf in the sound of crushing silence. Max had walked out on me. But I knew she would be back. Until Ari was defeated, she had no choice but to stay here with me- and after that I would just have to convince her to stay. A challenge, but not an impossible one.

* * *

"Hey Max," I greeted as she trudged in the door a full three hours later. From the sheen of sweat on her forehead, it was clear that Max had just returned from doing what Max always did when emotions and reality came too much. She worked out, pushing herself to the limits.

"Max, darling, how are you?!" My mother trilled. In fact- it was close to being a squeal. A girly, teenage squeal. I rolled my eyes discreetly. The first girl I ever introduced to my family and I could already see my mother planning our wedding.

The female mind truly was something I could never understand. For one of the first times since I had moved in to my own house, Mum had turned up unexpectedly at my door without arranging a visit beforehand. Her first question had been about Max. A strange look of disappointment graced her face when I told her Max had gone out for a while. Despite the stress I placed on the fact that Max and I were just friends, my mother refused to listen. One dinner, and I could swear my mother was drawing up wedding arrangements and booking florists. She was probably talking my father into building a baby cradle.

"Hi Marie," Max replied. Her cheeks were flushed and she was struggling to keep her breathing steady. I could hear her feet pounding up the drive seven minutes ago- sprinting, not walking. Grabbing a tall glass, I filled it full of cold water and passed it over. She didn't voice her thanks but her grateful eyes told me more then her words would.

"How have you been keeping, dear?" My mother asked warmly.

"Oh quite alright, thank you." I very nearly snickered- Max was so uncomfortable and polite that it made me want to laugh.

"Well, if that son of mine isn't treating you properly-"

"Mum," I warned good-naturedly. She was implying that I was in a position to actually take care of Max. She was going to scare Max off and that was something I did definitely not need.

"Oh hush, Nicholas! It's just a bit of girl talk, darling." My mother said with a wave of her hand.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing myself into floods of tears. Maximum Ride partaking in girl talk? What a ridiculously hilarious idea. Iggy and Gazzy would have a field day.

"Rosie has not stopped talking about either of you since last night! Max this, and Nick that!"

"Bring her over then," I told Mum. I loved Rosie, and it was pretty clear that Max loved looking after children especially Rosie.

"We can all come over some day this week. Just let me know what days suits you, I know you two must be… busy together and all. I wouldn't like to intrude."

I groaned and Max gave a chuckle before excusing herself to have a shower. Unsurprising, Mum didn't stick around long after Max decided to leave the kitchen. It wouldn't surprise me if she brought over bridal magazines on her next visit. This was not good, Max would not take too happily to it either.

Yet another problem that I needed to work on. Just what I needed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you again for all the positive feedback- please keep it up, even if it isn't positive, I love hearing from you! Here's chapter 17 =] The song used here is "When you're gone" by Avril Lavigne- I do not own it lol, I am just using it for this chapter! Lyrics in italics! Enjoy!**

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**~Max POV~**

It had been nine days. Nine days since I had turned up at Fang's doorstep. The regime had been going well. Days merged together quickly, passing fleetingly with a variety of training, wandering around, talking comfortably and just... living. Living life.

I knew that I was prepared for battle- physically, mentally, emotionally. That familiar feel of rage-fuelled anticipation had been building up in me all along. Day and night I worked. Running, flying, pushing myself to the limits. Fang did likewise but he didn't go as far as I did. He didn't wake up in the dead of night and silently sprint around deserted fields for hours at a time. He didn't get up at dawn to fly above the dew-soaked grass. Fang told me to stop, but I couldn't. Even now I was doing push-ups in the gym. For six years I had been taking it easy, I couldn't expect to run back into a fight and win on pure emotion.

Fang was anticipating this. He _wanted_ to fight. Like a champion returning to the ring for the last time- he wanted this, wanted to win, wanted to finish it. That wasn't his job though. It was mine. His job was to be the family guy. His family... they were great. We visited each other- lunch and stuff. His mother even rang me to 'chat' sometimes. I felt like a suburban mom. Marie- although very nice- wasn't a very subtle woman and took every opportunity to hint at the fact that she thought her son and I were meant to be together. In a non-platonic way. In Marie's mind the wedding bells were ringing and then being overpowered by the pitter-patter of tiny feet. Which was absurd. I mean, if we had kids they would fly instead of walk anyway… Okay, getting off topic. Change the conversation back to reality.

While Marie was hinting at a large gathering in the local church, Fang was pressuring me to call the Flock. He said we needed their input. He never for one moment thought that this wasn't going to be a team effort. How wrong was he! It killed me that he knew what was going on- and he wouldn't even be involved when the time came to take action. No way in hell was the Flock going to know anything. I was taking no chances. They didn't even know Fang and I were speaking! And that was the way it would remain.

I spent my nights after training and before sleeping studying maps. We had destroyed Itex, years ago. Who would've thought that I would live to be the grand old age of twenty?! Man, that made me feel strangely old. It was my guess that Ari and his cronies would be hiding out in one of Itex's old branches. The only intact lab left was near enough, it was an ancient- supposedly- abandoned one. From pure experience, I would beg to differ.

I knew that all the experiments had stopped, scientists were no longer in league with the Erasers and Itex was in fact finito. I had carefully gathered information from Ari over these past few months in the most unsuspicious manner possible. The Flock and I had finished Itex, we finished all the Schools. Ari and his gang were the only ones left- the only survivors. Living together for safety.

The lab on the map seemed like the perfect place: large, deserted, isolated. I also knew that there were a lot of Erasers, I even had the pleasure of meeting most of them last year. It wasn't a pleasant memory but they needed some incentive to force me into leaving Fang and the Flock to make a deal with the Antichrist Ari himself. It was an effective incentive and I had never looked back at Fang again.

I decided that my best bet was a bomb. Not original, but it was the best I could come up with. I would have to steal, beg or buy from The Gasman. Iggy would undoubtedly ring Fang if I asked him for some of his weapons, whereas Gazzy would just be delighted that I finally approved of his creations. Plus, he would be a lot easier to bribe into secrecy- this was why man had invented Playstation Games and extra large bars of chocolate.

But how would I know that I had finished all the Erasers off? And how could I manage to do it without Fang finding out and going berserk?

I would have to do it soon- Ari would have discovered by now that he had the wrong information and didn't in actual fact know where the Flock lived. He would also be recovering and furious. I had to get him before he got to the Flock.

I needed a plan, and I needed it damn fast.

* * *

**~Fang POV~ **

Allie and I headed back towards the house. She had been helping me all morning in the sanctuary. She enjoyed giving me a hand around this place; feeding the birds and talking to me while cleaning up the yards. I guess it had just been a good way to bond in the beginning, before becoming a tradition that neither of us wanted to give up.

"What's that?" she asked, freezing in the driveway with one ear cocked. I followed her towards the general vicinity of the garage. I had heard it ages ago. The radio- turned down low.  
That wasn't what Allie could hear though. What Allie could hear was Max's voice overpowering the little speakers, spreading out to fill the space in the room.

There was a sweet, catchy piano solo going on. And then I heard Max's voice. Her mouth opened and she started doing that thing that made all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. That thing that rooted me to the spot and blocked out every single other thing in the world.

_I always needed time on my own... _Damn right she did, little Miss Independent was our Max.

_I never thought I'd need you there when I cry... _If only she would cry, if only she did need my shoulder to cry on. But of course, Max hated weakness. And needing people was weakness. Independence was strength, Max strived for both.

"Whoa nice speakers, Nick! For a minute I thought it was Avril Lavigne herself was in there!" I was guessing that Avril was one of the singers that seemed to blare from Allie's room whenever I happened to call round.

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take. Do you see how much I need you right now?_

That was the thing- we needed each other. We balanced each other out. We were both unbelievably stubborn, but no one knew Max like I did and vice versa. Did she know that I needed her though, did she think that she needed me?

I didn't know Avril, all I knew was that Max was taking this song and making it her own, voice soaring in breathtaking crescendo...

"Whoa!!! Nick! That's Max!" We had just looked through the window to the garage. I stood mesmerised as Max did push-ups on the gym floor while she sang.

"Does she have a recording contract or something? That's why she's here isn't it? She's recording an album or something! And she's in the gym preparing for a photo shoot! Isn't she?!" Allie had an overactive imagination that was in full flight at the moment. Her voice was rising in pitch with each sentence- soon only dogs would be able to pick up her frequency.

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing too...  
_  
"Nah. Max is just visiting, that's all." My voice was soft as I watched her switch to one-armed push-ups through the small pane of glass.

"If I looked at a guy like that, you'd probably beat him up." Allie grinned wryly.

"It's not like that," I said truthfully.

"Yeah right!" Allie scoffed, walking off to the house. "Even Mom knows _that's _not true!"

I couldn't move yet. Her voice still captivated me, not allowing me to leave.

_We were made for each other, out here forever, I know we were.. _I wish...

_All I ever wanted was for you to know, Everything I do I give my Heart and soul.. _Well that was an understatement. Max never could do things by half. It was all or nothing- and nothing was never an option.

_I can hardly breathe, I need you here with me... _She was here now, but how long would she stay? I needed her to stay. Thoughts of Max leaving again made my chest start to constrict and tighten unbearably. I needed her here with me. I needed her to realise that. I needed her to need me- not like she needed me now, I needed her to acknowledge that she needed me and embrace it, instead of waving it off as nothing.

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you..._

How corny was it that I could relate to that perfectly? I wanted to hit my head off a wall. My fist clenched tightly like my jaw and I desperately had to take this emotion out in some kind of physical manifestation. Since walloping my cranium off a concrete surface sounded somewhat stupid, I went running instead- adrenaline coursing, feet pounding down on the ground. I ran flat out with lyrics sung in Max's voice lingering in my head until the house was out of sight... I could barely see it as I bent over grasping my knees and breathing in short gasps. Then I remembered Allie and had to force myself to run back.

I was in so deep, and she still had no idea. No matter what happened she was going to stay with me until she did realise, and then she could just stay here with me forever. It sounded like child's logic on planning a fairytale. But I wanted this fairytale to come true. We deserved it and I was going to make it happen. Nine days had passed and time was ticking away- I needed to convince her pretty damn fast.


	18. Chapter 18

_Well here is Chapter 18! (Wow, that's more then I thought we were on!!) Everybody is asking if Max will ever cop on and realise how much she cares for Fang... What does this chapter tell you? I think our dear Maximum could be in denial...  
Thank you for the amazing response to this!! Let me know what you think- as always- I love to hear from you =] _

* * *

**~Max POV~**

Taking Fang's advice for once, I decided to take a break. Daytime TV had never really held any appeal for me, but I actually enjoyed lying here on the couch allowing my mind to turn to mush for a few minutes. It was Marie and Allie who had recommended this particular show. To be honest I wasn't really paying attention- there was a pretty brunette with long legs who appeared to be going out with a blonde surfer. The people on screen said 'like' a lot and seemed to enjoy shopping. That was all I had grasped so far. It wasn't really the show or what was happening in it that interested me- it was the simple act of "vegging out" in front of the television that I wanted to indulge in. I gave myself ten minutes to do this, then it was back to work. A nice jog perhaps, or another spell in the gym.

Just then, loud and pounding footsteps resounded around the house and I was prevented from turning my brain to mush any further. Three minutes and forty seconds of my ten minutes were up anyway. I took the stomping steps as I sign that I was finished my relaxation session- it was probably a good thing anyway, relaxing was stressful. I didn't like doing nothing when I had a million things to do. The loud entrance, as it turned out, had been caused by Fang. He stormed into the house without so much as a hello. Marching over to the dresser and grabbing the phone, he began angrily punching in numbers. He looked absolutely livid.

"Whoa. What's up?" I asked in my bafflement. "Who are you calling, and what mortal sin did they commit against you?"

The whole course of events looked even stranger to me, as I was watching it all upside down. I was still sprawled on the couch, too lazy to get up. I had simply tilted my head back until I could see him. His furious face filled my vision until I got so dizzy that I had to sit up and face him right side up.

"Iggy." Fang said through gritted teeth. He was obviously seething: his one-word answer held absolute contempt and fury.

What on earth was going on? My heartbeat had picked up dramatically at the sound of Iggy's name. He couldn't know that I was here, he would interfere. If the Flock got involved the whole thing would get too messy. It would be harder to walk away- and it would be hard enough as it was.

"Stupid idiot," Fang mumbled incoherently. "Told him not to leave them here."

As he raised the phone to his ear, I lunged for it, tumbling over the couch and keeping it out of reach.

"Explain." I demanded from where I was crouched on the ground at Fang's feet.

He sighed. Still furious. "Iggy left a box of bombs here. You know he stays with Nudge and her family. Nudge's Mum fosters kids- but you knew that, I'm sure. She took in some younger kids a few months back and Iggy didn't want anything to go wrong so I let him leave his stuff in my garage."

"Sooo...?" If they had been here for so long why did it suddenly bother him? Whatever the reason was, I had to find some way to convince Fang not to call Iggy. If Iggy flew down here, then the proverbial would surely hit the fan sooner rather then later.

"So, my little sister was halfway up a stepladder in the garage about to take his big box of explosives down thinking they were power-tools! They could've killed her! Who knows how stable they are! Iggy has to take them back now or get rid of them. I don't care how- he can throw them into a pit in the middle of a desert somewhere for all I care, but they need to go. Now."

Fang held out his hand for the phone clutched in mine. I shook my head slowly.

Right then, at that specific moment, I had my plan. Not the most original, but a plan. I had my source, there would be no need to bribe Gazzy. I had everything I needed to hand. The Flock wouldn't need to be involved at all, just like I wanted.

"No!" I could hear myself say. "Tell your sister the garage is off limits."

"Wha-? Max, what are you on about? They have to go! I don't want that risk here- especially when Rosie and Allie are always coming over."

"We can put them to use," I said quietly. "Tell the kids that the garage is out of bounds. Lock it up. We can use the bombs."

Fang hesitantly nodded, instantly grasping the meaning in my words. I could see the silent fireworks going off in his eyes and I knew what he was thinking: Max has a plan.

And everyone knew; if I had a plan, everything was okay.

So why was there a lingering glimmer of sadness behind the determined anticipation in his deep eyes? It made no sense, but it was there. A sombre sense of sadness… like that surrounding a person who knew loss and pain were imminent. Which would be fine if it were physical pain that he was embracing… but it wasn't. His eyes told me so.

Fang was in too deep.

I was in too deep.

Staring him in the eyes silently as though I couldn't tear myself away. I wondered what my gaze told him? Did I let myself reveal as much as he did? Because I knew that my lips were not curved into anything resembling a smile right now.

And I still couldn't look away. Neither could he. The overwhelming inevitability of loss in his eyes made me want to blink rapidly or wince and look away sharply. Tear my eyes from his quickly. And I still couldn't. Like statues, we both stood motionless. Seconds ticked away fluidly into minutes. His eyes were boring into mine, each second another visible blow adding to the pain in his irises, and an invisible blow to the ache in my chest.

And then I did it, I pulled my face to the side. Spell broken. Moment gone. Fang closed his eyes regretfully and exhaled bitterly.

I had looked away.

And then I walked away. Up the stairs, my feet making quiet crashes on each step. I couldn't work this one out by hitting something. I couldn't fix it by running yet… that would come later. For now, all I could do was collapse onto the soft mattress in my room. Curl up in the deafening silence and drown in the maelstrom of whirling thoughts.

All that mattered was the plan. Carry out the plan and then get the hell out of here. Walk away again.

Pain is a message. Ignore the message.

Everyone knew: if Max had a plan, everything was okay.

I had a plan, therefore everything else would be okay. It only stood to reason. If I had a plan, everything would be okay.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19 has arrived, my dears!! Thank you so much for all the reviews, adds and hits =] If you have any questions etc. just drop me a comment/review- I love to hear from you and I will write back asap with answers! Hope you like this one!_

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**~Max POV~**

My rigorous work-out regime was exhausting- a trait I usually revelled in, but today it became too much. A break was desperately needed, and for once I decided to take one. A break longer then four minutes, and one spent doing something I would actually enjoy- as opposed to attempting to watch television like normal people. A nice, leisurely walk through the fields and forests surrounding Fang's land was more my thing.

Wandering through the trees, the sun was a gorgeous gold and the grass a glinting emerald. I wanted to remember everything. The smells, the colours, the sounds, the people. All the faces, all the things that made this place so great.

Everything.

I wanted to commit every single thing to memory and store it there, never to be forgotten. Imprint them inside my head to be looked back on in the future, if I lived to see a future.

A majestic Falcon soared across the glowing orb of the sun with a proud shriek and I couldn't help but smile. They were free here, Fang didn't lock them up or cage them, he gave them freedom and a place to stay with plenty of food and love. It was a haven. For the birds... and in a way for me.

As I strolled along, I banished all the thoughts of bombs, Erasers, battles and leaving from my mind. For a few minutes at least I could postpone that part of my life. Maybe even let myself pretend that I wasn't going to leave Fang's haven. What a deceit… staying was selfish. It was imposing on families who were perfectly happy without me. When I got close to people they got hurt through my own faults. Just look at Jake, he was an innocent kid… like Rosie. They were all innocent- unlike me. Nothing about me was innocent anymore. But I wasn't going to think like that now. This was the time for taking advantage of the good stuff. Even the lingering pain in my head couldn't ruin this.

For the last few days, it was as if the Voice could sense I was going to do something drastic. As a result it wouldn't stop trying to get through to me, making my head constantly pound in throbbing echoes of pain. But even that couldn't interfere with this, I wouldn't let it. I was going to enjoy this and make it last while I could, because I knew it wouldn't last forever.

Nothing lasted for ever; especially, in my experience, the good stuff. And this, I thought inhaling the aroma of fresh grass and dewy nectar in the air, this was way too good to be true. This was coming to an end... soon.

* * *

**~Fang POV~**

Today was one of those amazing days when everything seemed perfect. The sun shone spectacularly in a cloud-free, blue sky. Max had gone off walking and I had no idea where. Since yesterday she had been awkward. It had been a letdown and a breakthrough all at once. Just as I could feel myself on the very edge of getting through to her, she walked out on me as per usual. We had been on the edge, teetering on the sheer periphery of a jagged cliff, an inch from jumping off into the vast and limitless air. She was so close to realising the truth, to opening up and stop pushing me away. And then, just as success was in my reach, just as we had placed one foot over the edge in preparation of free-falling… Max had snapped back. Stopped and turned. Pushed me away all over again. And all I could do was stand and stare, still caught in the moment and half falling or flailing as she steadied herself and ran. Not one word had been spoken, yet so much had been said. Just as she had begun to listen, she had blocked her ears and shut her eyes. See no truth, hear no truth. Admit to no pain, embrace no painful truth. Max had run, all over again. Despite my disappointment, I couldn't bring myself to be particularly surprised. Max was still Max, stubbornness needed to be fought with perseverance and patience… and more stubbornness. I could do stubbornness just as well as she could. This was nowhere near over. I had gotten somewhere last night, I would get further as time went on. All I needed was more time.

As it happened, I wasn't the only one who appreciated the good weather: Mum turned up with a picnic. A picnic to have on my front lawn. Rosie, Dad and Allie had tagged along. Allie ran inside to grab blankets to lay on the ground while Dad and I found some chairs, Mum and Rosie were unpacking huge amounts of food. I couldn't help but grin when Mum's face brightened as Max wandered up from one of the fields. Rosie leapt up with a yell and hugged her enthusiastically- Max laughed, the corner of her eyes crinkling up and her teeth flashing in the sun's glow, and swung her around playfully before plonking down on the grass with her. Max was sitting beside Mum and Rosie crept onto Max's lap as we all started to eat. Every so often, Rosie would squeal as the arm wrapped around her waist would tickle her side. Max had often played the exact same game with Angel.

After eating and talking between ourselves, Mum and Dad had started dozing on the lawn chairs. Allie's fingers flew over her mobile, absorbed in a text. Rosie was running around trying to catch a butterfly. Max had been chasing her for hours and had eventually nodded off on the blanket laid on the ground. I told her to sleep, to stop pushing herself so hard but of course she wouldn't listen. Stubborn Max, suffering from Superhero Syndrome as I called it- always trying to save someone but never thinking of herself.

I was perfectly content to just watch everyone. Regress momentarily to that time when I had done nothing but watch others instead of engaging in conversation. Silent Fang, Old Fang. This scene was too perfect to miss, I was content to survey everyone else. Max was beside me, glowing under the sun's smile. Her hair splayed out around her, an amazing contrast to the deep red blanket. I was glad Mum and Allie weren't paying attention as I locked my eyes on the sleeping form beside me.

Suddenly, Max tossed her head and made an involuntary noise. A tiny mumbling groan coming from the deep depths of sleep. I nearly went to wake her- we all suffered from vivid nightmares from time to time- but she relaxed again before I had the chance. The moment had passed, I would let her sleep- Max needed it.

I switched my attention to Rosie who was still on a quest to catch an orange butterfly. Next thing I knew I heard a scream. A bloodcurdling scream. Piercing and shrill, the cry of someone in great pain. Max's legs were drawn up as she tried to curl into a defensive ball on the ground and she clutched her head in her hands.

Oh no. My mind was streaming expletives. Mum and Dad had shot up in shock, no longer basking in the soft place between sleep and waking. Allie threw down her phone in fright and worry. Rosie was on the brink of perplexed tears- her little face all scrunched up and bottom lip pouting. Mum was rushing over. And I realised that I was standing here just watching everyone else like an idiot. Max gasped in pain, breaking the constant scream. And then I snapped out of it.

"It's fine." I gathered Max up in my arms. "It's fine." I said firmly to the others. "She gets really bad migraines. Just wait here."

I strode up to the house, Max juddering and clasping her temples in my arms. I could tell that it was taking a lot of energy for her to not scream. Max curled into my chest as if trying to hide from the pain or block it out. Her head burrowed in beneath my chin and she whimpered softly between harsh sobs. I held her to me even tighter as I rushed towards the door.

I lay her down on the smooth covers of her bed. Brushing the hair out of her firmly closed eyes. Making soothing sounds and trying to determine what was wrong. She screamed again. Her cheeks were unnaturally red against her unnaturally pale skin. I couldn't tell if she was even conscious. Her eyes had never opened. My heart beat frantically against my chest- like the other night when the Voice had returned- but it was much worse now, the pain she was experiencing tore me to shreds as I looked helplessly on.

"Max," I murmured. "Come on, you can get through this. Come on, we both know nobody can defeat Maximum Ride, eh? Let's prove it to them all again." All she did was whimper, tears running cooling rivers down her red cheeks.

Sitting up in distress, she opened her mouth and screamed a final time. This time her lips shouted a word, a command or answer to an unknown question.

"NO!" Her throat bit out gratingly as her arms thrashed on the mattress.

Max then flopped back onto the mattress completely spent. Limp like a rag doll. Eyes still shut, breathing erratic. I sprinted down the stairs and grabbed some ice and a cloth. Her forehead was far too warm and the cold shock might jolt her into waking. She had to wake up. I had to make her wake up.

I was pressing the ice wrapped in the cloth to Max's forehead when Mum walked in.

"Nick....."

She had no idea what to say. Worry was etched on her face. I knew that my features were similar if not worse. I turned away from her, my attentions returning to the fevered woman lying on the bed beside me. I pressed the ice to her blazing cheeks, silently willing her to get up and laugh at me for being so worried, scold me for thinking she was unable to care for herself.

"Max is fine, Mum." My voice was choked and sounded foreign to my own ears. "She gets really bad migraines, there's tablets but I think she must have forgotten to take them this morning." Well, no one can say that I can't think on the spot. "Just… just head back home and I'll call later, okay?"

I guess Mom realised I wanted to be alone. She left just before Max's eyelids fluttered open. Silence shrouded the entire house except for our inaudible breathing. My trembling hand was still stroking her burning cheek gently as the cool cloth in my other hand dabbed at her forehead. Huge relief washed over me as Max rejoined the land of the living. It flooded my senses and made me unable to speak. Max looked exhausted but there was fresh determination present in her eyes. They looked at me from beneath long, damp eyelashes.

"Tomorrow." she said grimly. "We do it tomorrow."

My fingers froze on her heated flesh, just below the smooth planes of her cheek bones.

"It all ends tomorrow."


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20 is here! Thank you so much for all the reviews!! Glad to see you are still reading!! =] 3736 Hits so far!! Anyway, on with the story- let me know what you think!_

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**~Fang POV~**

Mom called in an hour or so later to check on Max, still convinced that a doctor should have been sent for. She was as worried about Max as she would have been about me or Allie. Poor woman, she was still completely confident that Max would one day be part of our family officially. I could only wish that my own faith was so strong.

__

It all ends tomorrow.

Had my time ended already? Was this it? The battle was upon us and I still hadn't won her over. And I realised that I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if Max and I were destined to be 'just friends', I would gladly take what I could get. Right now, it seemed like even friendship was far out of my reach. With an urgent sense of pressing desperation all I could think was that I couldn't let Max go. I just wasn't able to do it. I needed her here. That was it- simple as ABC.

I could already feel her slipping away. She had said it herself- it all ends tomorrow. But could I do the most daring course of action? Could I go against her plan? It was like a forbidden treason- Max had a plan and everyone followed, it was never disputed or disobeyed. But in my desperation, could I dare to act out- could I refuse to let her go? Not agree with the plan- reject the key factor that it would all end tomorrow?

Mum wanted to see Max. That, of course, just wasn't possible. Max wouldn't want to see anyone right now. After she woke up, she had merely stared at me. Daring me to leave my hand where it rested, caressing her cheek- daring in a way that said 'remove it or lose it'. so I pulled my hand reluctantly away, but refused to leave her. I stayed in the same position I had held while trying to wake her up- bent over her prone form on the bed, invading her space and dangerously pushing out limits. Then she told me those crushing words: _'It all ends tomorrow,' _and I turned for the door with a crushing sense of defeat weighing down my shoulders. I stole one last glance as I shut the door- Max had not sat up yet, her eyes were closed and her head thrown back on her pillow. The crinkling frown around her mouth was one of sad frustration. But I knew if I asked why, I wouldn't get an answer, so I shut the door quietly and walked away.

I told Mum that Max was feeling much better and was having a lie-down. I had, in actual fact, left her in her room with the phone glued to her ear.

Planning. Planning the end. The end I wanted to change. The end I would change- I had a few hours, it was all I needed.

* * *

**~Max POV~ **

That evening I let Fang in on the plan. I wanted to just fly off without a second word to him, but I needed him with the Flock... just in case anything went wrong. The Flock, as always, were the priority and the target. They may be strong little bird-kids, but Fang was the strongest. He was the protector. I needed him with them- once I had that reassurance, I could face anything without qualms. It was all arranged already, once Fang had left my room I set to work immediately to get my mind off recent events… The Voice had hit me really hard this time. Excruciatingly bad. Skull-shattering blows from within my own head. And through the pain I could feel myself being cradled and held. Something soft beneath my wings- a bed. I came to in the room Fang had given me. He lay over me- too close, way too close. His face was screwed up in anxiety, followed quickly by relief. His long fingers were stroking my cheek, back and forth, over and over. Tingling on my skin. Too close. In too deep. So I shot him a look that clearly told him to back off. And he did, resigned sadness in his eyes as he pulled his hand away. But he was still too close- pressed up against me in a way that made my breath catch. So I kept up the cold glare.

Now here I was, alone in my room with a burning and red ear after continued use of the phone. Forget about Fang, concentrate on the plan. This needed to be exacted with classic Max precision. And it was. Everyone would be in Nudge's house before tomorrow morning. I told them I was going to visit, no mention of the truth. They didn't need to know, they wouldn't be involved. Fang still held a bone of contention about the fact that I refused to clue in the others, but he was going to follow my plan. I was still the Leader, that was how it worked. What I say goes, just like always. No one would dare to argue with a Max Plan. So now all I had to do was clue him in on the minor details.

"...... and then I'll meet all of you at Nudge's."

"What?!" Fang's head shot up and his shocked eyes bore into my passive face. Here we go.

"I need to do something first. I'll meet all of you there afterwards." I told him up-front.

I could see that Fang was going to protest. My face became emotional, and my voice low and choked. Lying, always lying. "I need to go back. I need to see how Jake is."

The room was silent and I stared at the floor. "It isn't far off course but... It's something I need to do alone." I glanced up. I hated lying to him, but this was the best solution for everyone. I could see that Fang was going to give in. I could make him give in.

"I have to, Fang. I just have to see him... I have to. He was hurt, and I was to blame. I need to do this, Fang, and I need to do it alone."

I could see his internal battle, and the way he took it out on his lower lip. It was beginning to turn white beneath the pressure of his pearly teeth. His eyes gave me confirmation- it was okay. He was reluctant, highly hesitant, but he would let me do this for my own good. He thought it would give me closure and add fuel to the fire of burning anger and hatred towards Ari. He knew it was for the best, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. Fang wouldn't argue though, because he would do anything to keep me happy and safe.

The horrible truth burned an acrid hole in me. Churning acid in the pit of my stomach, the heart of my throat and my tender, watering eyes. There was no visit to Jake. I was preying on Fang's good nature and fooling him into believing my crafty lies. Fang was going to the Flock. He was going east to safety, I was going west solo. Right into the eye of the storm.

"I'll be right behind you, then we can go and finally finish this, okay?"

He paused- conflict evident behind his seemingly calm facade. "Okay." Fang replied. "And after?"

"And after what?" I asked puzzled.

"After we do this, after we finish it- what do we do then?"

"We go back home and keep living life." What was he getting at here, I regarded him with a raised eyebrow questioningly.

"Where's home Max?" he asked quietly.

"Well... I..." I was flabbergasted. "I'm not all that sure yet. That's my next plan," I said triumphantly.

"What if you stayed here?"

"Here?!" I echoed incredulously. Fang was avoiding my gaze, his focus was trained on the floor. It had been a quiet question spoken with tentatively blunt words.

"Yeah. Here. I mean, this place is way too big for just one person. Everyone loves having you around, and I wouldn't have to worry about you getting food poisoning anymore, " he attempted to joke. My eyes were as round as dinner plates.

"You could stay here. With me."

His dark eyes remained fixated on the floor and his fingers plucked at a stray string on his shirt. Oh no. Why did he have to go and say that? Too deep, way too deep Fang. I couldn't stay here! I.... I.... I couldn't even string a sentence together! I couldn't deal with this now.

"I don't know Fang, I think I'd like to... Just… like to..." I was struggling, trying to choose my words carefully. Maybe I should fake another Voice attack. Yes, faking a Voice episode, that was definitely my best option. It looked very appealing right now. Keel forward, grasp head, scream- awkward conversation avoided.

"Yeah. It's okay Max. Offer stands though. We should probably get some sleep, big night tomorrow." He extracted himself from the seat and stood up. They were the shortest sentences I had heard him speak since I had arrived. An image of him leaning over me and stroking my cheek with some unknown emotion burning in his eyes flashed in my mind and I blinked strongly. Too far, too deep. Tomorrow it would be over.

"Yeah." I heard myself say. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks..." So much for my rapier wit and quick thinking. I went to bed cursing myself for being a lying, conniving, blathering idiot.

Fang's proposition made it hit home that this was yet another New Start.

*First part of my life: School. Hell.

*Second part of my life: Life with Flock.

*Third part of my life: Left Fang. Living alone. Ari.

*Fourth part of my life: Fang's home. Haven.

And now... now I was starting afresh all over again. Actually, analysing the past I could see a definite down, up, down, up pattern emerging. Well just great, that meant I was due a down patch. Bummer. Then again, when had I ever paid attention to all that stuff? I believed in survival and my own choices- not hocus pocus prediction rubbish.

Still, it was a tad depressing to think about.


	21. Chapter 21

**Not much happening here, I'm afraid, just another insight into Fang's mind as the battle draws nearer and nearer! Is Max still oblivious? Or is it that she knows the truth but refuse to let herself believe it? All will be revealed pretty soon =]  
I love the reviews so much- thank you so much for the amazing feedback! Let me know, as always what you think! **

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**~Fang POV~**

I couldn't sleep. My eyes refused to stay closed for more then a couple of seconds at a time. So I lay in the pitch black room, enveloped in darkness staring at the ceiling and sighing as thoughts ran around my head on a loop. She said no.... not outright but that was her answer more or less. Honestly, I didn't expect much different. Max's stuttered words replayed over and over in my mind. It was a blunt, far from eloquent question. But it told her the basic message.

_You could stay here. With me._

How needy did I sound?! Like a pimpled, angst-ridden teenager mooning over the head cheerleader. That was it exactly- and I knew it for a fact. Allie had made me sit through enough girly rom-coms to recognise that particular scenario when I saw it.

Agh, stop thinking Fang. Just quit it, right now before morning came. Fighting in a state of exhaustion was a dangerously bad idea. So stop thinking. Every thought led straight to her and that led to detailed analysis of her and everything about her and that led to frustration.

Just. Stop. Thinking.

Switch yourself off, for crying out loud, flick some kind of inner switch inside your head and just black out for a while. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that.

Thoughts rushed around in my mind keeping me up. As soon as I shut my eyes they got increasingly worse, until I sighed loudly in frustration and opened them again. Thoughts of my family, thoughts of the Flock, thoughts of her. Slide-shows of the past and the recent past. Pictures of her smiling endearingly at me; images of her juddering in my arms fighting off the Voice, reddened face covered in a sheen of sweat; memories of the way her eyes lit up when she was happy; flashes of her steely determination as she trained in the gym. Swiftly followed by thoughts of Ari, Erasers and anticipated combat. Anticipated victory at last. And then it started all over again. A spiralling stream of thoughts that circled continuously, never ending.

Not only that, but I had agreed to let Max go off on her own before we had our rendez-vous with the Flock. Alone. Without me. I didn't want to, I wanted her within my sight at all times. Nothing scared me or tore me up more then the thoughts of Max being alone. But this was something I knew she needed to do. Her face dismally fell as she explained her reasons- and I couldn't help but allow her to go her own way for a while. Maybe it would give her closure, ease up all that unnecessary guilt she felt. Wasn't that what I wanted? Of course it was, I had to let her do it, not that I really held the power to "let" Maximum Ride do anything. She was her own boss, as well as mine for the most part.  
Max could always make me do things I didn't want to do anyway. Example one: we still hadn't told the Flock our plans... There was another thing to think about.

My head felt too busy, too many trains of thought going on in there at once- I was worried there would be a pile-up on the tracks any time soon. A horrible train wreck of smashed metal and twisted debris.

So no, I just couldn't sleep. I lay thinking instead. I didn't get up when I heard Max pull open the window, I didn't stir as her wings swooped open and sliced through the cold night air. She was going to work it all out, push herself too far instead of listening to her own emotions. This time I wasn't going to follow her. I just sighed and let her go to think.

Sometimes I hated thinking. Shutting my eyes, I tried once again to silence my own irritating mind.

* * *

I awoke that morning, surprised that I had managed to catch any sleep at all. It would be an advantage tonight though, awake meant sharper focus. Silence lay heavy around the house all day long. I wasn't sure if it was the tension and anxiety about tonight, or the tension and awkwardness from last night. Why did I have to open my big mouth?! Well, mouth- no one could ever say I had a big mouth. Still. I was pleased I had said it, at least Max knew. Knew she was welcome, knew she was wanted.

We were sitting at the table eating lunch in relative silence. And then Max shocked me by speaking. I almost choked, having become accustomed to hearing nothing but the little voice in my head since before dawn.

"So, your tattoo. Am I deemed ready to know the deep, dark secret yet?"

I blanched. Definitely not.

"Nope." I said casually. "Guess you'll just have to keep waiting. How's your head?"

"Feels like a heavy metal, rock group is jamming in there. Only, multiplied by about four-hundred. Unhealthy amount of decibels. I'll live," she replied with a familiar wry smile.

"Can I get you anything? Water? Painkillers?"

Max shook her head with a small smirk. "Nope."

She popped the 'p' with a smack of her rosy lips.

"Nothing helps, I've tried it all. Don't worry about me, Fang," she chastised me through narrowed eyes. "I'm fine. Just like always."

With that she got up and walked out. Meandering purposefully out of the room, even though I knew she didn't really know where she was going- there was no purpose.

Yeah- Max was fine. If fine was a euphemism for stressed, hurt and disillusioned. Yet, once again, before I could question her she was gone.  
One couldn't stay around awkward situations for long, I suppose, especially not when they run the risk of making you realise the truths you hide from yourself. Her defensive walls were slightly weakened, but I still wasn't able to break them down. I didn't have long left- unbeknownst to Max, I had seen her room this morning while she was running. All the bags were neatly packed. She hadn't been lying- it all ends tomorrow. Except at this stage, it all ends today. She was going to try to run. Finish Ari, finish the Erasers and flee. Max wanted distance between us- she wanted a return to the last year where everyone had a nice, happy family except her. To the time where she wasn't "intruding" or "infringing on" others. Even though she never had been and never would be.  
I needed to make her realise, I needed her to see the truth and I needed to do it quick.

Seconds ticked into minutes, minutes into hours. And there weren't many hours left.


	22. Chapter 22

**Wow guys, I am loving the reviews!! Sorry about being slow to reply and update- homework is an evil mistress!! But here is the next chapter and it is longer then the previous one- as promised!! **

**To jamzin_08 - Thank you so much for your review, I'm so glad you are enjoying this! (See- I do reply to reviews that aren't signed in lol!! =P)**

Well, on with the story- don't hesitate to let me know what you think! =]

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**~Fang POV~  
**  
"I'll see you at Nudge's. Are you sure...."

"Yeah, Fang. I'll be no more then half an hour, okay?" Max rolled her eyes, clearly sick of me asking the same questions again and again.

She pulled one of the two identical navy rucksacks on her back with smooth, silent precision. In my eyes, Max wasn't shrugging on a small backpack like a little kid going to school- no, in my mind this was Maximum Ride adorning her polished armour in preparation for a savage war.

We had packed the bags earlier this afternoon. I adamantly refused to let her take the bombs in hers, so they were carefully stored in my bag. I understood what Max was doing and that she needed to do it alone, she wouldn't be at peace until she saw the boy. My constant worries aside, I would just have to meet her afterwards. Plus, like Max said, someone had to fill in the Flock.

We flew together for a few miles in mute quiet before parting. With a curt nod, Max uttered the words 'Thank you Fang.' and once again turned her back on me to fly in the opposite direction. And her words weren't simple or meaningless. Her deep eyes and held mine captive for slow seconds with significant weight, as though she wasn't just thanking me for letting her go to visit the boy, but as if she was thanking me for a plethora of different events- for letting her stay with me, for accepting her, for helping her- and I wondered with confusion why she did that now instead of later. Perhaps she didn't want to acknowledge anything in front of the Flock? Or, the most likely option, perhaps she still had it in mind to leave as soon as this fight was over. And perhaps there was no 'perhaps' about it.

I paused for a few moments watching Max's silhouette fade with distance, I didn't leave until she had wholly left my sight. Thirty minutes, all she needed was thirty minutes. Surely I could deal with thirty minutes. It still wasn't too late, the grains of sand were running out of the timer but I still had time left to convince her after the fight. I could still do this. Just thirty minutes, half an hour until I saw her again. Then the speck that was Maximum Ride finally evaded my vision and I set off with fierce determination. Every fibre of my being was quivering with anticipation. I was practically twitching as I flew. This was it; the final battle: pay back. Bye bye Ari.

Max had gone west towards Jake- back to where this had all started. I, on the other hand, was due east to the Hartnett's- otherwise known as Nudge and Iggy's home. Gazzy and Angel had arrived there this morning. The Flock was still completely in the dark- it was up to me to let them know what was going on. They had no idea what was on the cards; Max had decided there was no need to worry them, it was just a quick mission.  
She could talk me into anything as per usual.  
Iggy and the others probably wouldn't appreciate the secrecy. In fact, I'm pretty sure they would be pretty put out by the whole thing, but Max had spoken. The Flock may be broken, but in my eyes Max was still leader and always would be. The Second in Command might have more leniency than others and be able to ignore minor orders every once in a while, but when push came to shove I did what I was told. My sister would call me whipped, and I wouldn't be able to deny it.

It was a beautiful evening for flying. I skimmed above the trees on cool air looking down upon the dusky world. It was a dark night and the tall trees were no more then blurred outlines set against a black sky and silver moon. I coasted along on cool currents, humming to myself when suddenly things changed. Drastically changed.

Suddenly I wasn't soaring and humming peacefully anymore. Instead, I was falling. Spinning, crashing, spiralling to the earth. My head was on fire, and overwhelming pain ripped through me. I could hear myself roar and scream as my hands tried to hold my skull together. Tears sprung to my eyes and my animalistic screams ripped through the disturbed air.

What the hell was happening to me?

I screamed again in blinding pain. Suddenly I realised that I was going to hit the ground. Soon. I couldn't move my wings, too paralysed in pain. If I hadn't been falling from the sky at an alarming rate I would have curled into the foetal position by now. There was a loud thump, my body jolted as it connected with something hard and firm. There was a fresh wave of renewed pain, I had hit the ferny floor of the forest below me, miraculously missing the trees.

_"Hello Fang." _

I was hallucinating from the massive, searing pain that claimed me. I was hearing things. I had to get out of here before someone found me. I had to get to the Flock. But I couldn't move. I groaned and moaned, my head hurting so much it was unbearable.

_"Relax." _said the same neutral, unemotional voice. _"Stop fighting."  
_  
Hah! Stop fighting?! In your dreams! Only then did it hit me that there was no one else near me. I was completely alone in this deserted forest. The sound was in my head. **The Voice** was in my head...

And it was hurting me so much that suddenly Max's reactions to her brain attacks seemed horribly understated and minor. I couldn't stand it. The unimaginable piercing pain kept hitting me in unbearable waves on and on; throbbing, pounding and raw, blinding out the rest of the world. I heard myself whimper and claw at the earth trying to get a grip on myself and take control. I would keep this out, block off my mind. Max did it daily, why couldn't I? I could defeat this- I had to. I needed to fight it off. Fight it and then go to get the Flock. My cheeks felt hot and wet beneath my shaking hands, and salty moisture dripped into my open, roaring mouth.

_"Fang, stop fighting. This is pointless. I need your cooperation." _The Voice was calm yet strangely fuzzy. Like a bad connection on a phone line. Distant and blurred- but painful like a damn hell's angel prodding my tender flesh with a burning pitchfork made of flames and razors.

"What do you want?" I gasped. The sound was coarse and dry as sandpaper. It grated in my throat and tore at my vocal chords. "What do you want?"  
_  
"To help you. To save Max." _

A picture of the aforementioned flashed before my vision. Max. Save Max. Well, that changed everything. But could I trust the Voice? In the past it had helped us... but why would Max block it out if it was good? If it was on our side? There had to be something else- something bad. If the Voice was trying to help us, why would Max ignore it and cause herself so much pain in the process?

_"Yes Fang, I have helped in the past and I will help again. Max blocks me out because I don't tell her what she likes to hear. Nevertheless, the truth is the truth even if it's not the truth you want to accept. You know Maximum- powerful and loyal as she may be, she does not always see the world clearly. Stop hurting yourself Fang, let me in. Let me help Max."  
_  
Max. Max needed help. So I made a split decision, a completely unthought-out choice. I stopped struggling. I flopped limply onto my side on the freezing forest floor, collapsing in a panting, vulnerable mess- I was open to whatever it was going to hurl at me now.  
Instantly, most of the pain vanished, leaving me with a splitting headache and a strong, numbing, lingering ache.

"Is this what Max goes through every time you drop in for a little chat?" I asked in a sarky tone, trying to pick myself up off the ground. The hoarse, scratchy timbre of my voice ruined the scathing effect.

_"No." _I could imagine the Voice chuckling from the manner in which it spoke. _"Hers is much worse. She fights much harder and is more difficult to initiate contact with."_ The Voice was noticeably sharper, no more blurred or fuzzy interference.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded again in my broken voice.

Max... it had said something about Max... I think. I couldn't think straight, thought processes addled. Everything seemed a little surreal, and wondered if any of this was actually happening or whether the stress and confusion of everything else had finally gotten to me and driven me mad.

_"This is a last resort, Fang. Max has blocked me out completely, so I am turning to you. You need to go west. Max is attempting to do this alone. You **must** help her. She needs you and she needs the Flock."  
_  
I sat up in shock. The quick movement made my groaning head spin like a washing-machine rotating at full blast. My eyes were clouded by dancing bursts of disorientated light. My stomach felt like it was on a badly constructed rollercoaster ride and I was seeing stars, I shook my head painfully in an attempt to see clearly. The dark forest's appearance suddenly seemed chillingly threatening. I opened up my backpack, the zipper making a hissing noise as I yanked it across. There was a noticeable void where the bombs had once rested.

SH*T!!

My blood ran cold, freezing and numb in my veins. My stomach dropped fifty feet on the rough patch of its plummeting rollercoaster adventure.

Superhero Syndrome, I should've known. Trying to save everyone with no regard for herself. Typical Max. Superhero, selfless Maximum Ride- warrior and protector extraordinaire. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight. Big mistake, Fang. Big, big mistake. I should have seen this coming.

_"Listen to me carefully, Fang. These are the directions. After I give them to you I will leave you. You must save her, Fang. You must save yourselves."  
_  
I listened intently as I shifted the bag onto my shoulders. With a curt, calm _"Goodbye" _the Voice vacated my mind. Wincing and gritting my teeth together, I made a final running dash into the clearing between the towering trees. In seconds my wings were propelling me back the way I had come.

Back to Max.


	23. Chapter 23

**Wow!! Big shout out to everyone reading and reviewing!! Especially to livizy who i think reviewed on just about every chapter last night!! I know you mentioned that you wouldn't be able to read anymore for a while even though you really wanted to =( So i hope that you will be happy with this once you do get back on!!******

I hope everyone likes this next chapter! We're on chappie 23 already!! =O Loving all the reviews guys, keep it up! =] Thank you so much for reading this! Hope this one doesn't disappoint!

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**~Max POV~**

I hovered in the air, hidden from sight thanks to a large oak tree. I was still and silent, part of the shadows. Even the regular movement of my wings was almost undetectable. I was completely calm and peaceful, quite Zen actually. My tranquil presence was something to take pride in.

The grey building before me was a dreary, eerie, creepy piece of desolate architecture. The moon was blurred and barely visible behind dark clouds in the black night sky. There were no stars. For ten minutes at least, I had been here just getting myself together, there were no guards outside but there was light within the four concrete walls. These few minutes before the battle kicked off were crucial- this was the time for preparation. Getting my head straight, psyching myself up and letting the adrenaline and power surge into my veins. Breathe in, then out. Clench fist, unclench fist. Concentrate on getting into that sharp zone where fighting became survival and your senses were heightened to the max. I was Maximum Ride, this was just another mission, Maximum Ride did not fail missions. Still and silent, inhale then exhale.

The backpack I had switched with Fang's hung from a thin branch beside me, bombs tucked inside. Before I blew this joint (in the literal sense) I had to know one key factor- _was Ari inside_? I had revenge to exact on that particular dog, but getting in would be difficult and getting out near impossible. I was still in my state of deep concentration when the silence around me shattered. I only realised too late.

Something grabbed my arm and my heart kicked into overdrive. I spun around, other arm raised. It grabbed that too. By the wrist. I couldn't get free. Oh well, I still had legs; I lashed out but all I came into contact with was empty air... The person was above me.

Flying! What the hell?! Erasers were never this graceful or silent!

My attacker pressed me up close to the bark of the grand oak. The face I saw was furious. The face I saw was the last face I had wanted to see. The face belonged to Fang.

Just great. Could things possibly get any better then this?

"You idiot Max! What were you thinking?!" he hissed, not relinquishing his grip on me. "What in the hell do you think you are doing?!"

I glared into his dark eyes insolently. "I'm finishing this," I snapped.

He scoffed angrily. Fury radiated off him in burning waves, beneath the anger I could glimpse fear in his deep eyes. Fear that didn't make sense.

"Finishing yourself, you mean."

And then I saw red. As usual, we were going to fight. He was calling me stupid?! **ME**! He was the stupid one, I had this completely under control all he was doing was putting his life in danger. I had come here alone for a reason, damn it- so that he wouldn't get hurt! What the hell was he doing here anyway?!

"Listen to me, Fang!" Now I was the one hissing. I grabbed the material of his shirt in my hands fiercely. He still had me trapped against the tree, and I couldn't get free so I thrust my face right up to his viciously.

"I am **not** suicidal, I am not depressed. _I am fine_. Things were going great until _you_ showed up! I am doing what I can to save the Flock!"

Yup that was me: never back down, right? This far from placated Fang though.

Fang gave a rough bark of humourless laughter. Fury evident in his face, irises spitting fire. His face still ridiculously close to mine.

"Look at me." he commanded, cool breath fanning out around my nose.

His grip was like burning shackles around my wrists, wood cutting into my back. We were pressed up against each other impossibly close- I was sandwiched in between Fang's chest and the hard tree. He was so angry that his breathing was very deep, each time he breathed I could feel the movement. His jaw was set rigidly and he seemed to be having trouble controlling himself.

"Everyone needs help, Max. _Everyone_. And I am _not_ letting you do this alone. The Flock **needs **you. They don't need you to save them, they don't need you to play the martyr and sacrifice yourself. They. Just. Need. You. And you're no use to them dead, are you? You die when we die." His words were cutting. Tone sharp and hard. He echoed the words he had spoken at the beach all those years ago, but his anger and fear then was nothing compared to now. I was pretty sure that this was the most furious I had ever seen him.

"Get some goddamned sense! Jesus, Max, you're stupid. I love you, but my God you're stupid." He was really, really angry. I could grasp that more then I could ever comprehend him being understanding.

"I'm sorry." I meant it too. When was I going to stop screwing up? My eyes welled up as Fang's continued to burn into them. I had to look away, my gaze shifted to our entwined feet.

Fang's grip loosened and when he spoke his tone was softer, although the edge remained. "I know. And I know you do this kind of thing for all the right reasons, but sometimes you have to do things the... less difficult way."

His cold fingers brushed the underside of my jaw, and I hesitantly raised my eyes again. "Is it really so hard for you to let someone help every once in a while? Sometimes you have to let someone save you for a change, Max. Why can't it be me? Why do you have to push me away every goddamn time? Don't you get it, Max? I want you to stay, I want to help you, and every time you put yourself in danger with stupid stunts like this it tears me to pieces. Just let someone help you for a change, Max. Please."

I nodded slowly- yes, it told him, I could use some help sometimes. I could use his help sometimes. I guess it became clearer then. If I had accepted help at the times I needed it most, I wouldn't keep getting myself into messes of this calibre.  
Not that I would ever actually admit that to anyone. I mean, I was still me: the Leader, the Protector. By maybe, once in a while, I could use just a teeny bit of help. A tiny tear brimmed in my eye and tricked down my cheek, only to be captured my Fang's thumb as it swept across my skin. Just like when he had been poised over me with all that worry in his eyes after the Voice, his fingers tracing small patterns on my skin making me shiver. It made me want to close my eyes and stay still, surrounded by his arms. And I didn't know why, and I wasn't all that sure that I wanted to know either.

Then I felt a sense of loss and I instantly felt colder as Fang finally released me and moved backwards. "The Flock are on their way." he said. "I called."

I sighed deeply. Fang gave me a look and chose to ignore the sound. Then he tensed. About four seconds later I did likewise, every nerve on hyper-alert. There was a faint rustling somewhere around us. We were not alone.

Suddenly a large black shape pounced on Fang and they crashed to the ground as a big tumbling, disarray of moving limbs. I felt the intruder jostle against my arm as they both went plummeting through the air. Both jumped to attention as soon as they landed and stood in a fighting stance. As the moon resurfaced casting hazy light around us, I swore.

The one and only Ari. Spawn of Satan in the flesh. I swooped down immediately. They were circling each other. Boxers in the final round.

"Max, stay back! He's mine." Fang yelled without taking his attention off Ari for one second. Ari lunged with a punch.

"And when I'm done with you, she'll be mine," he growled venomously. "Again."

Fang snapped. A blow to the head, roundhouse kick to the chest, right-hook. Ari was stumbling backwards in a confused daze. He roared forwards again, huge fist aimed at Fang's cheekbone. Fang was too quick; dodging and smashing a fist into Ari's left side. There was a sickening crunch as Ari's ribs were no longer intact.

Suddenly something flashed before my eyes. The moon glinted off shiny black metal. A gun. A gun in Ari's hand.

"Nooo! Fang!!" I screamed.

Fang was faster. His elbow crashed down on a disorientated Ari's arm. Crunch. Fang grabbed the cold, hard metal weapon, delivered a clean, sharp kick to Ari's knees and he crumpled to the ground. The gun was pointing at Ari's head, Fang towering above; looking down on his greatest enemy. He was a magnificent sight- the true avenging angel shrouded in cold fury and ready to deliver the ultimate penalty.

His words were so quiet, spoken with deadly disgust and hatred, that I had trouble hearing them.

"She is not yours. Never was, never will be. You're scum, you aren't fit to touch the ground she walks on. You are an evil stain on the face of humanity and you are finally going to get what's coming to you. And I am just ecstatic that I can exact the punishment."

Fang's expression never changed- remaining cold and passive. "Goodbye Ari," he said. "It's been hell knowing you."

Terror had filled the latter's eyes. Finally faced with what he had put so many others through.

A shot rang out through the crisp night air. I turned away, shielding my closed eyes and there was a thump as Fang threw the gun to the ground. Instantly getting lost beneath the foliage.

As I looked back, speechless. It had all happened so fast, it was all so cold and exact. He had been standing there- the source of my fear and pain personified- and then… he wasn't. Not there anymore. Gone. And I didn't know how to react. There were no words or emotions that could describe it and I simply stood and stared at the winged man in front of me. And all he could do was stare right back. No words. No actions. Just a million questions and answers held in two pairs of watery, staring eyes. Then the moment passed. Unwillingly, as a soft sound reached our ears and Fang rose his head towards the heavens. I could hear the far off beating off wings. The Flock.

One by one, they landed lightly on the ground beside us, gazing in shock at Ari's still body and the unnatural cerise staining on the leaves that surrounded him. I grabbed my rucksack off the branches above me. I unzipped it methodically and extracted our weapons of choice.

"Tearful reunions later. We still have a job to do," I said with authority. Honestly, I was still slightly dazed and my hands were shaking- but nonetheless I needed to resume my position as leader. I focused my attention on the weapons before me, to give myself something to do. Gazzy and Iggy approached to examine the bombs.

"Stop." A voice told us firmly. It was Angel. We turned to her in surprise. "It's over. There's nothing left, Max. It's finished."

Huh? Obviously my confusion must have registered on my face. "Look guys!" Angel called, starting off towards the former lab. No, no, no! She was running right into the centre of it all- the eye of the storm. For a few seconds we just stood there in surprise, before I realised what she was doing.

"Hey!" I roared frantically. "Angel! No, wait!" She kept going, a flash of long blonde hair streaking towards the concrete building. Instantly, we all began to follow, breaking into a sprint in order to rescue the seemingly insane girl.

Not now, it was nearly over, I had nearly won this battle- I was not going to lose anyone now. Especially not my baby. My legs pumped beneath me, crashing amongst the leaves and solid ground as I ran at break-neck speed after her. I could stop this from happening- Fang and I could stop anything from happening to her. We had managed to defeat Ari, we had succeeded in fulfilling the difficult part of this mission. We couldn't let it go wrong now.

One by one with me at the fore, we all burst cautiously into the building after Angel. I prepared myself for the milling crowd of Erasers that were undoubtedly inside. Alert and focused. Breathe in and out. Concentrate and pay attention. We would get through this- we were all here together, that had to count for something, right? First things first: Find Angel.


	24. Chapter 24

**Wow- the response to this kind of shocks me!!! 5310 hits and 1237 visitors!! Seriously- whoa... and thank you!! I love the reviews!  
To lizivy once again: I heard the song Cinderella a few months ago and immediately thought of Max! You are so right! Hope you get off your punishment soo nand get to read the updates!  
Massive thanks to all other reviewers- I will reply to any and all questions you have! Let me know your views on this one, love you guys =]**

* * *

**~Max POV~**

"Hey! Angel! No, wait!"

But she didn't, and all I could do was run wholeheartedly after her. I could hear the others' blurred voices yelling at my baby, but I was running so fast that I couldn't distinguish what they were saying. She had a head start on us- just enough to allow any enemies within to grab her and hurt her. Not now. This was not going to end like this, not on my watch. Nobody was dying today- not on our side anyway.

And then I was at the door. We all burst inside, panting for breath. Every nerve on hyper-alert. The corridor was empty. Void of any human or inhuman life. The absence of sound was a eerie and unsettling. Hands raised in preparation of fight, I moved stealthily towards the room to my right. A swift jerk of my head told Fang to take the one on the right. The others spread out in the empty hall, ready to stop anyone who came from the other end of the building. It may have been a long time since we had done anything like this, but we were too well practised in these recon missions to have any qualms or lapses in memory concerning plans of action. On the count of three, we wrenched open the two doors.

Nothing.

But wait, in the corner- hidden by a long, metal table. There were two burly Erasers lying prone on the tiled floor. Clearly dead. I swore. What the hell was going on?

"Max?"

My head snapped up. Angel. That was Angel's voice. Yet, she didn't sound frantic or in pain or fearful.

"Stay where you are, sweetie. We're coming. Don't worry, okay," I called. They would know where we were now, but there was no doubt in my mind that they knew that anyway. But any Erasers left here were without any leader- that was our one big advantage. We needed to attack in their confusion. After we got Angel back.

"It's all okay Max, I told you: it's all finished!" Her little voice was… happy? It came from the very end of the hall. Fang looked at me sharply. A look that plainly said- don't be fooled, this could be a trap. And everything told me that it probably was.

We all began to make our way down the narrow, white corridor. It reminded me of a hospital. Or the School. A cold shiver passed up my spine. So far there were no signs of life and I started to get anxious. Could they have a surprise plan of attack?

Suddenly, something grabbed my wrist. My arm flew up only to be blocked by Fang. He held both of my wrists tightly in his long, cold fingers and stared me frantically in the eyes.

"Swear you won't do anything stupid. Promise me Max, promise you won't play the martyr superhero."

"Fang," I snapped. "Now is not the time, we need to get to Angel." I made to pull away but suddenly found my face being cupped by his chill palms.

"No. Swear, Max. I mean it, swear to me that you won't pull the stupid heroics that really aren't freaking necessary."

The desperation in his eyes mirrored mine, but they were for entirely different reasons. I wanted to get out of here, he wanted me to promise that I would behave. Like an incompetent child! But in his features, I could tell that he was just worried about me- and I wondered if I should be touched or just annoyed that he thought I needed to be worried about.

"I swear," I sighed, just wanting to get to my Angel and make sure she was safe.

Fang gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you." And his stupid hand brushed over my cheek a-freaking-gain, making me shiver for completely dissimilar reasons. Nudge was looking at us, I could see her from the corner of my eye. Angel was still not in my arms. We were still trapped in this horrible reminder of our past. We still had a job to do. Now was not the moment to analyse shivers and messed-up feelings that may or may not have existed.

"Guys, where are you?!" Angel's voice called again. "I'm in the room at the end of the hall. Come on!"

Pulling away from Fang's hands and Nudge's look- I started towards the end of the corridor. The light at the end taunting me with the unknown. Fang stepped up to my side and we stepped into the open room with fists raised and ready for some kind of trap.

The trap never came.

It was the largest room we had seen- a canteen of some sort. Among all the tables and chairs were slumped, muscled bodies. Slack-jawed with closed eyes. Erasers. Or what were previously Erasers. Numbers were visibly tattooed on their necks, like barcodes. Standing in the middle of the room was Angel. Unharmed. My tense posture relaxed infinitesimally.

"Expiration Dates," she explained. "I told you it was all okay!"

Still wary, we wandered into the other rooms to examine them and lay to rest our insatiable curiosity. Every single one was the same: Erasers pressed against cold, hard, shiny tile. Deceased. At last.

Now, technically, this should have filled me with happiness and relief because:

(1) We were safe,

(2) It was over, and

(3) We didn't have to add yet another 'Provoked Mass Murder' to our list of Bad Deeds Carried Out For The Good Of The Universe.

It should have been a relief. It should have brought me joy. But it didn't. Instead I was filled with pure dread and fear. My blood ran so cold it nearly froze within my veins and I could feel ice-cold chills shake my frame. We had thought all the expiration dates were gone. We destroyed the Schools and Labs, there were no more wacky scientists. The expiration dates were supposed to have disappeared with them. So now, I was far from joyous and victorious. Now I was just plain terrified.

What if we were doomed to a similar fate? I wanted to puke. I could tell that I had turned pale. All the blood had drained from my cheeks as soon as I saw those little numbers. In a cloud of desperation, I turned to Fang, trying not to let my fear show in front of the others. Fang was different; he could instantly tell when I was distressed. He was the one that could settle my fears and talk me down. The only one that could possibly make this panic ebb away any little bit. I whirled around to face him, eyes pricking with frustration and anxiety.

* * *

****

~Fang POV~

They were all dead. Lying on the ground claimed by the terrible fate pre-ordained for them. All the Erasers had been given their expiration dates- a cruel euphemism for a quick and irreversible death. They were all gone, finished, finito, caput. The Flock was high-fiving and exploring the rest of the building, filling the desolate halls with their whoops and cheers. They were happy- not only because of the Erasers, but because Max and I were finally in the same room together after a year of loathed separation. They were ecstatic, running around the desolate necropolis.

I was watching Max.

All the blood had drained from her face. She was the colour of fresh porcelain- an unpainted doll. I could both hear and see her chin tremble. Her head swung to face me, eyes wild. I knew exactly what was going on inside her mind... after all, the exact same thing was going on in mine.

Were we going to end up face down on the ground too? I had no idea. The very thought made me dizzy, a horrible sense of vertigo. I felt sick to my stomach, the triumph of knowing that Ari was finally gone thanks to me instantly faded. Did we have expiration dates too? And all I wanted to do was comfort her in some way- but I didn't know if I was able to. I didn't know if the same fate was in store for us, I couldn't console her with blatant lies. The worrying thoughts were starting to give me a thumping ache in the front of my head. A dull pain that was getting unbearably worse.

Oww… Max's distressed face blurred in front of me. She looked close to tears. I needed to get to her, comfort her and hold her close. I finally made some kind of breakthrough with her and now… I needed to just talk to her and calm her fears... Oww... to calm my own.... agh, this damn pain.... if I could just...

The floor tilted beneath me, blurred- as though under water…

I winced and fought off a painful groan.

"Fang?" Max's words were distant... hazy, like a far off dream. Was I waking up or succumbing to darkness? If the cursed floor would just stop moving. I grabbed the nearest worktop and tightened my grip around it like a vice. I needed to speak to Max... Max needed me... The sturdy worktop suddenly wasn't enough to keep me upright

****

"FANG!!"

Should I fight it? I don't think I'm able to fight it...

My last thought, as I hit the floor with a resounding bang, was that this hurt. I couldn't fight anything that hurt this much. And then it all went chokingly black to the backdrop of my screamed name.


	25. Chapter 25

**Whoa... Okay, first off: Thank you so much for all your reviews!!! The amount of people that were worried about Fang was crazy!! I'm pretty sure that every review said something along the lines of "OMG not FANG!!! You can't kill Fang!!!" I'm sorry for driving you all crazy lol!! I have so muchwork to do tonight that I haven't actually replied to most of the reviews yet- I thought you would prefer that I write and post this instead, I'll try to reply after I do my pile of homework!**

Well, this doesn't completely answer everything but the next chapter will. I hope you are happy with it- it is extremely rushed and I feel I could probably do a better job on it if I had more time... Stupid homework... Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing- don't forget to let me know what you think of this one too =]

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**~Max POV~**

He was clutching the edge of the shiny metal tabletop. A strange look passing over his face as he swayed. My heart started to pound as his eyes fluttered closed. And then he was falling- tumbling towards the ice-cold tiles.

"**FANG!!**" Came the high-pitched scream. It was a shrill and piercing sound. It was me.

He hit the floor with a dull thud, slumped over on his side. Eyes closed, chest still, lips parted. Silence rushed in my ears like a crashing wave, preparing to swallow me whole.

"NOOO!" I ran over to him on unsteady legs- half collapsing before I reached his side, dropping instantly to my knees. The hard, glazed tiles rattled my kneecaps. But I couldn't feel the pain that should have been there. Mainly because the emotional kind was chewing me up so much from the inside that I couldn't sense anything physical. My fingers fisted into his shirt and I lay him on his back. I repeated his name over and over in a desperate plea, as though it would somehow bring him back to me.

Warm moisture dripped down my cheeks, it took me a few seconds to realise that they were tears. Hot, salty, fresh, grief-filled tears. Acidly burning my skin.

Not now.

I couldn't come this far and lose Fang now. Not after everything we had been through. We had finally ended the Erasers, there was no more School, no more saving the world to do. We had a future now, an uncertain one albeit, but a future nonetheless. My trembling fingers flitted through his soft hair, looking unnaturally dark beneath my pale skin.

I wasn't going to lose Fang now. I finally accepted help, dammit! That had to count for something, surely?! He needed to protect me in this crazy world and I needed to protect him- that stupid song was right. We needed each other- The Leader and The Second In Command. The Number One and her Right Hand Man. The two best friends. The stubborn fools. The ones that loved the Flock. The winged kids that saved the world.

"Hell no, Fang! Don't you dare even _think_ about leaving me here without you. Get your stubborn ass back here and open your eyes." And he didn't. They were still closed and I slowly felt my gradual grief turn into hysteria as I screamed at him.

"That's an order! Fang! For once in your life do what you're told! Fang!" I started to hit his muscled chest. My hair fell across my face and stuck to the rivulets of tears, my breath was starting to catch in my throat. This was panic- pure, unadulterated panic. And suddenly I could empathise with that look of desperation and fear I had seen in Fang's eyes so many times. Only mine were probably a million times worse. This time I knew what those meaningful looks were. I knew the weight they held, and I was feeling that weight crushing down on me with horrible strength.

Suddenly I understood it all.

And Fang might never know.

"Open your goddamn eyes, this isn't funny! Fang!!" I had been screaming so much that my voice began to grate against my raw throat. Behind me, I head footsteps skid into the room.

"Max? What the hell is going on in here?" Iggy's voice held innocent bewilderment. It wouldn't if he could see the scene unravelling before his unseeing eyes. Vaguely, I detected Nudge's voice telling him frantically what was happening. I was breaking-down right in front of them. Their Leader was turning into an hysterical mess. Maximum Ride was breaking down completely… and she didn't care who saw.

I was starting to sob. Tears no longer dripped down my cheeks, they cascaded. I couldn't lose him. Not Fang. We were finally going to right the wrongs. He had a family now, I had him now. The Flock buzzed in the background- terrified talking that I tuned out. My legs cramped beneath me on the freezing cold floor. My face was flushed from crying but I didn't care anymore, I just needed his eyes to open for me. I needed him to pick himself up off the ground and say something sarcastic and tease me for crying. I flung myself limply over his prone body- but over all my juddering sobs, I couldn't feel anything anymore.

Over my quietening cries, I could hear Iggy approaching. Nudge and Angel rubbed my shoulders and tried to pull me upwards- away from my Fang.

"No," I shook my head resolutely. "No! I'm not leaving him!"

Iggy walked slowly forward to examine Fang, to find out what had happened and why. "Max," he said soothingly. "Let me take a look at him, okay? I won't make you leave Fang, alright. I just want you to step back a tiny bit. Right beside the others. Just for one minute. Come on Max, I need to see to Fang. Just for a second."

His tone was so soothing and understanding that I could barely notice the note of anxiety and fear carefully masked in it. Iggy was making sense. If Fang had any hope left at all, it would be Iggy that could help.

I leant my head against Fang's chest for a second, and then scooted up beside his ear. "You better wake up, Fang." I whispered hoarsely. "I know now, I swear I do. And you won't know if you don't open your eyes for me. They're gone Fang- the Erasers are gone. It's all over. We did it, Fang."

Every word I said scraped along his ear and I could hear myself begging. I was on my knees, on the floor, begging. "Please wake up. Think of Rosie, and Allie. Think of your parents Fang! You can even think of me. I swear I won't get mad- I'll let you save me, I'll let you help. I'll do anything Fang, I get it now. Come on. Please! Don't even think about leaving me. Don't break your promise again. Not after all this! I'm sorry- I really am, but I get it now Fang, I swear that I do. Don't leave me here. Please... "

"Alright Max, come on. That's it. Just for a minute, okay."

Iggy was anxious. He wanted to see to Fang as badly as I wanted to stay by his side forever. But I couldn't do that. So I let the girls pull me up, pushing their shoulders beneath my arms to carry me back from Iggy and Fang. My head kept up my praying mantra.

__

Please. Please come back to me.

Angel hugged my midriff, it helped me to stand straight while I watched Iggy work. As his fingers flitted over the contours of Fang's chest, my legs felt like they would buckle beneath me and send me crashing to the ground to join him once more. Because he still hadn't opened his eyes and I still hadn't heard his voice. And all I could think, amongst all my crazed though processes, was that this had all been for nothing. This meant absolutely nothing if Fang didn't make it through. My hope was slowly ebbing away like miniscule grains of sand against the pull of the forceful tide. I couldn't lose him. And if his family lost him it would all be completely my fault. I was being selfish again, wanting him to myself- but I was gone past caring. All that mattered was that Fang opened his eyes and got through this.

"There's a pulse!" Iggy yelled abruptly and my heart soared into life once more. "I found a pulse! It's okay- I've found a pulse. It's not very steady guys, but it's there and it seems pretty strong."

My hands smacked over my mouth to contain a stifled sob. But this kind of sob was for an entirely different reason. Nudge hastily wrapped an arm around me as my legs faltered a little more.

__

That's it Fang. Come on, just keep fighting. Please, please wake up. Please.


	26. Chapter 26

**I'm actually pretty happy with this! I hope you like it! I know it sounds like the end but I think there will be one more chapter... just to tie up some loose ends relating to the title- but if you want to leave it at this, just tell me =] I love your reviews, thank you so so much!! It is an honour to hear from you all =]**

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**~Fang POV~**

The last thing I heard was a frantic female voice. Max… Damn, I had to get to Max. But then I realised that gravity had been swept from beneath my feet. I instantly knew that my knees had buckled, sending me crashing to the floor. I didn't feel myself hit the ground as the already existing pain overwhelmed me- but the world tilted on its axis and I could feel my self cave into the darkness. And the last thing I heard was Max's voice… then it all became eerily quiet.

And the pain was still tearing me up. If I was going to die shouldn't I be feeling peaceful and calm? What happened to the cushy clouds and pretty white tunnel? But maybe the pain was a good thing- it meant I was still alive at any rate. That meant I could still fight- I still had a chance of getting back to Max. And my family… of course. But how could I fight something that I couldn't see and couldn't hear? How could I fight something when I was unconscious? Or was I really unconscious… unconsciousness generally implied that brain activity stopped and you didn't have rambling debates with your own mind- right?

_"Fang." _

Now I could hear it. My chances were getting better. It was the calmness of the sound that struck me. Cold and unemotional- the exact opposite of the last words Max had spoken to me. Or screamed at me- either way, it was different.

_"You know better then to fight me." _My brain protested as searing pain ripped through my skull for the second time in twenty-four hours. Well, wasn't this new. Immediately I let the Voice in. As if one excruciating visit per day wasn't enough. So I wasn't dying, not just yet anyways. It was just another little visit from our not-so-friendly ghost that decided to pop in for a chat and cause unprecedented pain every so often.

Through my unconscious haze, I could hear someone scream my name. Feminine. Frantic. Far away. And it was so heart-wrenching, that I started to feel trapped and claustrophobic. All I wanted to do was wake up and comfort whoever was screaming so painfully. But it would be okay- Max was out there, as far as I knew. She would stay strong for them all. The scream was probably Angel, I decided. When I got back Max would have dried up all her tears and calmed all her fears. Max would keep her cool.

"_Well done_," the Voice praised. But it didn't sound like praise- it still sounded cold and robotic. "_You finally beat the Erasers. You have done very well, Fang_."

"I appreciate the congratulatory message, but the bone-shattering pain really isn't worth it." I growled mentally. I thought back to Max's voice as she yelled my name, I couldn't hear any of them anymore. I had to get back to her- she needed me right now. She was scared, and had an hysterical Angel on her hands- this wasn't helping. I needed out of this. I needed out now.

"_Don't worry Fang, we'll be all done in a minute. Then you can get back to our dear Maximum. I had meant to congratulate you all but then I heard some of your earlier worries and decided I had to intervene. I thought you would be interested to note that there are no expiration dates for the Flock. For some strange reason, I thought the pain would be worth it for that little piece of information_."

"No expiration dates? You're sure?"

"_I am sure_." It replied neutrally. "_It generally would not be the type of statement to make jokes about- or so I would have thought_."

"Is it over then? Is it finally finished?" It had to be, I knew it had to be. But I had to ask.

I got no answer. Just a void of all sound as though I were encased in some kind of vacuum.

The pain eased and I knew instinctively that the Voice had vacated my head. Without answering my final question. In my mind, I was shouting for it to come back but it was useless. The Voice was long gone. Take what you get and don't ask for more. But I wanted so desperately to know more. I needed to know more. It all had to be over. They had messed with our lives for long enough.

I could feel my eyes flutter open and bright light flooded my vision making me wince loudly. Iggy's blurred face crowded my vision, I could feel his fingers pressed against my neck on the thrum of my pulse. Things began to get clearer, sharper and more focused. I blinked repeatedly and, regaining the ability to stand, I pushed myself up off the tiles. Iggy had to help me up and I could sense the ground wobbling beneath my unsteady feet.

Over by one of the Formica worktops stood the rest of the Flock. Gazzy had an arm around Angel- whose face was buried in his side. Nudge gnawed her lower lip anxiously and had one hand resting on the back of a figure that was bent over the worktop. Her head resting on her arms, frame slightly shaking. Her stance told me she wanted to be alone, Nudge's hand was the only contact availed of. Muffled cries and heart-wrenching sobs.

"Oh thank god. Welcome back man." Iggy grinned, exhaling loudly. I could see the tension and intense anxiety gently disappearing off his face. "We thought we lost you there for a while. Well, more then a while actually. Finally thought I had your pulse, and then you had to go and make me lose it somehow. Not cool, man. So not cool. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Iggy. Just fine."

The hunched figure whirled around, blonde hair whipping around her face. Max. Puffy-eyed with tear tracks on her flushed cheeks. Max? It was Max? Was it Max? Surely not… I mean, this is Maximum Ride we are talking about. She let out a relieved sigh as she saw me and gave a miniscule shadow of a smile through her trembling lips. The Flock ran over to me, barrelling into my chest with raucous cheers. They knocked me back slightly as I stood stock still. Just staring. Was it Max? Those heartbreaking sobs and cries?

Max didn't move, and neither did I. My left hand ruffled Angel's hair but my gaze connected with Max- just staring at her, like she was at me. Transfixed and caught in a moment. Unable to move, not wanting to break her gaze. It was only when Gazzy's voice broke my concentration that I reluctantly turned away to face him. Just a tiny blink and a miniscule turn of my head. That was all it took. When I looked up she was gone.

Quickly, I spread the good news to the tired and tearful gathering. Very quickly. Rushing my words and cramming information into one single sentence. My gaze swept around the room.

It was Nudge who broke through all the layered questions. "Go to her. Fang… she was really torn up. I mean it- really, really upset. Just go to her. We'll be here when you get back."

And then I ran. Skidding through doorways as my head continued to spin.

The cold air blasted into my face as I made it through the very last door. Outside, Max stood at the door, rucksack in hand, staring at the vast expanse of sky above us. I led the way out of the building. Laying one hand on her shoulder, I leant over and whispered in her ear as the wind blew gently around us.

"Don't."

Max turned to face me. Her face was so close, I could see every track those salty tears left on her skin. She gave me a small questioning look even though we both knew what I meant.

"Don't leave." I clarified.

She didn't answer. I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. Just for a second- I didn't care about stupid boundaries anymore. I didn't care that Max would probably hit me for it in a minute. I just needed it, even if it was just for a second.

"Please don't leave me, Max. Please."

And I never prepared myself for what happened next. Max turned in my arms and buried her face in my shoulder, her arms wrapping around my neck. All I could do was stand still. Frozen. Living in some kind of parallel universe over the freaking rainbow. But it was real- it had to be. I could feel her hair brushing against my cheek. I could feel the way her slim body shook in my arms. I could hear her muffled sniffs, and wondered what they were for. This was real. And I wasn't going to waste this moment. So I pulled her tighter to me.

"I thought you were gone, Fang," she whimpered. "I thought you had left me. And I… I started to think that you were dead. That I was all alone- again. I kept screaming and you wouldn't open your eyes! You didn't even move! And then they made me leave you- made me stand away from your… your body. I couldn't stop crying, and then Iggy found a pulse and I thought it would be okay. But then… then, it was gone. You were gone."

And right there, in my arms, Maximum Ride started crying. My hands stroked her hair gently and I pressed her to me with ridiculous strength. As if I could pull her so close that eventually we would just meld into one person and never lose each other again.

"I wasn't gone," I said in my choked up voice. "I swear I wasn't gone. I need you, Max. I can't leave. I just can't and it drives me crazy, but I swear I wouldn't leave you alone. Even if you leave me, I will never leave you."

"I won't leave." The words were spoken so softly that I doubted they had been spoken at all. Max's face was so muffled by my shoulder that I was mishearing what she said.

"What?"

"I said," Max replied, extracting herself from my shirt. "I said I won't leave."

Her watery eyes were determined as they bore into mine. Her hands were still looped around my neck, making all those tiny hairs there stand on end.

"Promise," I gasped softly, still unable to believe it.

Max gave a tiny smile. "I already did."

I shook my head, causing my stupid hair to fall into my eyes. I never bothered to push it away- it was highly insignificant right now. "Promise," I pressed.

"I promise." Her fingers flitted over my face and gently pushed my stubborn hair out of my shocked eyes.

It was still hard to believe it was real. I was so tempted to believe that this was just some crazy hallucination clouding up my mind after the Voice screwing with my head. But her fingers were still trying to push back that ridiculous piece of hair that I was resolving to cut off.

And I ducked my head as Max's forehead scrunched up in mild annoyance at my hair's stubborn tendencies. This was it. She might kill me. But it would be worth it. Because my face was even more impossibly close to hers. And our noses brushed lightly. I count every freckle on her face, but I didn't.

I ducked my head, closed my eyes and kissed her instead.

The whole world froze. It stopped spinning. Just for us. Because for once, it was all finally going right. Maximum Ride was kissing me back. Not hitting me, not screaming, not running. Just moulding her lips to mine and keeping her arms wrapped around the nape of my neck.

I didn't know how long we stayed like that- a few minutes? Centuries?

As we pulled away regretfully, I held her cold hand gently in mine because I just couldn't let go. Our foreheads were pressed together as we just stood there looking. Surprised and unable to do anything other then look. Without pulling my gaze from hers, I leant back slightly and called the others.

We did an up and away from where we stood. Leaving the concrete building and all its death and decay behind. Max and I were in the front, leading the way to my place.

Flying in formation. Reunited at last.


	27. Chapter 27

**Wow... okay... It was pretty unanimous that I post a final chapter! So here is said chapter. I actually realised that I needed to post this anyway to tie up all those loose ends lol! So here is the last chapter. We have reached the end my friends- and I have to admit that I'm pretty emotional about the whole thing!!!!  
You have no idea how much I absolutely loved getting your reviews and hearing from you!! I can't express in words how much I want to thank you all! So to everyone who read this, to everyone who reviewed, and to everyone who added this to favourites or alerts- I love you guys! Thank you so so much! I can't believe this the last chapter! So, to give it a good send off- please, please review- mainly because I will really miss getting any from you guys on this story from now on! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the last chapter- cheesy and rushed as it may be. =]**

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**~Max POV~**

The sound of clinking china came from the kitchen as I entered, Fang was wordlessly putting the clean dishes back in the cupboard. So far, he didn't realise that I was standing in the doorway.

We had all flown back to Fang's house together- although, with all the thoughts zooming around in my head, I was surprised that I hadn't fallen out of the sky a million times over on the way. I coasted along the crisp breeze at Fang's side- talking to the others, feeling ghostly shadows of his touch on my skin and sneaking glances at Fang. Because I suddenly found that I just couldn't look away anymore. His words were echoing in my ears, the look on his face spun in front of my glazed eyes and I kept brushing my lower lip as I hid a smile.

_'Don't leave'_ he had said. Fang was absolutely convinced that I was going to run. Not that it came as a surprise that he did. It just alerted me to the fact that he hadn't heard one bit of my desperately whispered words. My heart had dropped and shattered when Iggy lost his pulse- minutes turned into years, filled with inescapable grief. I broke down. Big time. Everyone was staring, everyone was listening, everyone was watching- and I just couldn't pull myself out of it, I couldn't bring myself to care. His pulse was gone, he was gone, everything was gone.

So I pushed them all away. I didn't want to be touched, didn't want to be seen, didn't want to suffer but couldn't stop. And then I heard his voice. Short, short sentences. Hoarse tone of voice laced with aches and pains. Whirling around, my wet strands of hair slapped my cheeks, and there he was. Fang. Alive. Standing right in front of my eyes staring at my face. The relief in itself almost made my knees buckle again.

It was like a sticky web- I couldn't break free of his gaze. He glanced, for a second, at Gazzy and then it all came crashing down around me. I was standing in front of my Flock after trembling; crying; bawling and screaming in their company. All my crazy emotions started to suffocate me and I felt that familiar claustrophobia telling me to get out quick. By the time he looked up I was gone.

I didn't go far- just outside into the serene darkness, away from all the others. I had been looking at the huge expanse of black that was the night-time sky, when he laid his hand on my shoulder. The gentle touch sent shivers down my spine as the wind dried my tears. My irises still focused on the sky- it went on forever, a different life lying under every single silver star. I could take my pick from any one, yet I was here. Back at Fang's place, and I knew exactly why.

As I stared out at the sky, the old familiar longing to just spring to the clouds and take off without looking back had tinged my mind again, but I quenched it. True, I had been the one that landed the Flock in that mess. True, I had messed up. True, Fang had a family. But wasn't it also true that _we_ were family. Hadn't I made that discovery for myself as he lay motionless on those cold hard tiles? And what a discovery it was. A terrifying one when I realised that it could all be taken away from me so easily.

We needed each other. That was it- simple as could be. We had a future- uncertain as it was, and so I was here. I never wanted to feel the grief I had felt back at the lab, I never wanted to experience that heart-wrenching feeling of loss and helplessness. So as much as I may have wanted to fly off into the night, I couldn't let myself. Thus we come to the present, where I was- uncertain and confusedly- standing at his kitchen sink, silently putting away delph.

"Everyone settled?" he asked turning around to face me. He was sporting a light bruise on his left temple and there were dark circles beneath his eyes. It had been a long night.

"Yeah, Nudge and Angel are sharing my room- I mean, the room I was in. Iggy and Gazzy are in the other two."

We had all been crowded in the sitting room revelling in chat and catching up since we landed. Iggy had cooked a few snacks after chastising Fang for not having a greater selection of food in his cupboards. We had been acting like a family again- they didn't know the truth about what had happened, Fang and I had kept quiet about details. The Flock was just happy to have us back together. It was all that they wanted, and I was happy to give it to them.

"Do you want any help?" I asked awkwardly. Every time I saw his face I imagined it getting closer, until we had a replay of earlier. A blush rose to my cheeks at the thought. I fought off a tingling shiver.

He shook his head and threw down the washcloth. "Come sit with me," he said, walking towards the sitting room. Just as we passed through the door I felt his hand grasp mine. It was warm from the soapy water in the sink.

We both sat on the couch in the darkened room. Not speaking, just rubbing our fingers over our entwined hands silently. Man, this was awkward.

"Will you stay?" Fang asked.

Glancing into the deep orbs of his eyes, I couldn't trust myself to speak so I just gave a nod of my head. Two strong arms wrapped around me and I leant my cheek on his chest as it gently rose and fell.

"I'm not always good at staying in one place for a long time," I admitted.

"We'll go on lots of holidays," he answered.

"I'm too stubborn for my good," my voice confessed, as his hand stroked my hair and cheek.

"We'll be ridiculously stubborn together."

"I don't deal well with being told what to do."

His chest vibrated with a chuckle. "Then I'll follow your orders."

"I've done really stupid things and I'll probably do more," I mumbled truthfully.

"I'll help you to avoid that," he placated with the same twinge of humour.

And here was the big one. The big, bad, ugly truth. "I've done really, really bad things. Awful, terrible, horrible things. Things that don't deserve forgiveness."

Fang pushed me away. Right off his chest. His calloused hand grabbed my cheek and his eyes were blazing. It made me want to wince.

"Don't you dare say that, Max. Don't even think it. We have all done bad things, we all had awful lives- but you were always the best of us all. You sacrificed everything for us, you put yourself in huge danger over and over and over again. Loving someone too much, caring for someone too much, that isn't a crime. That isn't wrong. You don't deserve forgiveness because you haven't done anything that requires forgiving. Anything you have ever done was out of love for our family. Being forgiven isn't even an issue. It never was."

Tears were brimming up again and I cursed myself for being so emotional tonight. Fang pressed his lips to my cheek, making a smile tug at the corner of my lips.

"I love you," he whispered honestly.

"I know," I murmured back. "I love you too… I'm sorry it took me so long to realise."

"As long as you get it now," his mouth mumbled against mine.

I pulled away. "And I don't believe in all that marriage stuff."

Fang chuckled and pulled me into a tight hug. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"We should get to bed," I yawned regretfully. "Do you have a blanket?"

Fang shot me a puzzled look. "Is it too cold?" he asked with concern.

"No," I laughed. "For the couch." We both knew that there were only four bedrooms in the house- one being Fang's and the other three currently occupied.

"You aren't sleeping on the couch!" Fang chastised, looking scandalised.

"Well, the floor then," I amended.

"No way! You are going in my room."

"I am **not** taking your room! This is **your** house!" I said, crossing my arms over my chest in disbelief. Since when had Fang turned into a chivalrous gentleman? And since when had I been too delicate to sleep on a floor or couch? Did I have to remind him that most of my life had been spent sleeping in caves?!

"Our house," he corrected. "You need a good nights sleep."

"Oh, and you don't?" Our exchange continued for a good ten minutes to no avail. It was like a match of tennis, back and forth, over and back- volleying, never actually scoring or getting anywhere.

I exhaled in exasperation. "Fine. We'll both take the bed. Cleary this isn't getting us anywhere. We both need to rest after today and I don't see how it is any different from all the times we slept on the same floor."

"Max, I can take the couch."

"SHUT. UP!" After hearing the same words repeated over and over for a full ten minutes, one really got sick of them.

So we checked in on the others as a force of habit and crawled into Fang's room. We pulled the curtains over all my coloured cards, turned off the lights and rolled back the covers.

"Thank you," I whispered, kissing his cheek before collapsing into a deep sleep.

"S'okay," Fang mumbled, doing likewise and holding me close.

* * *

The morning came far too quickly. Saying I was tired was a severe understatement. Wrecked, exhausted- nothing came close. My mind was drowsy in a sleep-fuelled haze. Why was I awake? Oh yeah, the door. The door was opening. Better open my eyes. But it was so warm and I was so tired…

"Oh. My. God! I'm sorry!! Really, really sorry!!" It was Allie. Fang's sister. What was she on about? I extracted myself from the warm blankets around me. Oh crap. Those weren't blankets. It was Fang. His arms were wrapped around my shoulders and waist. We were both lying on our sides, I was curled tight against his chest.

I looked up towards the door. Allie stood there open-mouthed, her cheeks tinged pink. Oh no. Gazzy was there. With a camera phone. Poised and no doubt snapping away. Fang stirred at my side. He was awake, and currently looking at the door. Gazzy laughed, grinning evilly he ran off down the hall. Allie flushed once more and shut the door apologising profusely.

"Did he have a camera?" Fang's voice, was muffled as his head lowered back onto the pillows.

"Yeah." I gulped.

"Great," he sighed with a yawn.

For a few seconds I lay still- half sitting and half lying. Then I decided I didn't care- just like that. As if this was no big deal. Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.  
If you had asked me what I was doing, I honestly wouldn't be able to answer you. I was openly showing the world that I wasn't Independent Maximum Ride. I was letting them know that I did feel emotion every now and again, and that sometimes I did need help. It just wasn't a big deal anymore.

I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I knew that it felt right. Being here felt right. My eyes were drifting shut again and I decided I could wait until later before I tried to delete Gazzy's camera memory. Fang leaned slightly forward and hesitantly kissed a spot just below my ear.

"Are you still going to stay?"

I nodded, my hair tickling his nose. "Mmm hmm. I promised, didn't I?" I replied.

"I was worried that was all a crazy dream," he admitted.

"You can't get rid of me that easy," I teased.

"I'm never getting rid of you. Ever."

Fang wrapped his arms around me even tighter and I relaxed against his hard-yet-comfortable chest. He leaned in again, breath tickling my ear. "The Tattoo," he murmured. I saw the black symbol flash before my eyes. "It says Maximum." He kissed my cheek lightly. I could tell I blushed. Who wouldn't at something that cheesy and sweet? I wondered if I should hit him on the shoulder for knowing it all so long before I realised, or if I should just let him know again that I really did finally know now too.

"I love you." I whispered. Option number 2 it is.

It felt right, I thought as we drifted back to sleep.

I was happy.

I was loved.

I was forgiven.

I had let someone save me for once.

And it hadn't turned out so horrifically bad that I did.

My eyes fluttered shut and I relaxed in this knowledge, we were all here- back together at last. Under one roof, finally a Flock again. Fang's arms pulled me tighter against him, and I succumbed to peaceful darkness.

Never say never. Forgiveness was granted- along with so many other things I couldn't even begin to get my head around.

It felt right.


	28. Chapter 28

**Wow.... To every single person who reviewed, Thank you so so much! I loved hearing from you and I was honoured and awed by your comments!! =]  
The last chapter was actually the last chapter, but _Skye Maxwell_ asked me to write her a little end that would give her "_some closure about how everything worked out for Fang's family- especially his mom_."  
And I couldn't resist! So if you want to leave the end at the last chapter, go ahead- but this is just a little finishing piece about Marie more then anything. So- Skye, I hope you like this!  
Also- on the topic of Fang's mom- _rootlessdream_ pointed out that Fang's Mom reminded her of Raymond's Mom in the program Everybody Loves Raymond. The funny thing is- both are called Marie! Maybe that link influenced this chapter a little, I'm not sure! But I love the whole maternal, mother-hen image of Fang's Mum!!  
Once again- thank you so much to everybody who read, reviewed and added- you guys are legends (huge praise in Ireland in case you don't get the reference!!) So, yes, this IS the end :( xxxx**

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**~ Marie POV (Fang's Mom) ~**

"Allie, sweetheart?" I called- wandering through my son's house. It was a lovely crisp Saturday morning, and my daughter had been gone for hours. It was a regular occurrence for her to visit Nicholas- they enjoyed feeding those pretty birds of his- but she rarely lingered for this long. I had to admit that curiosity was a niggling little trait of mine, so out of natural concern for my children I had strolled up the drive and let myself in.

The sitting room was generally the most lively room in the house- as it had a television, but I had never heard this much noise in it before. My Nick didn't host parties and was generally pretty reserved. He had a few old friends of his over now and again, but that was all, and I had never met any of them- not until the delightful Maxine. No- Max, I was under strict instruction to call her Max. Yet, this morning, there was a cacophony of tittering giggles and a buzz of mumbled speech coming from the room.

"Oh my!" I exclaimed softly. There were five youngsters in my son's sitting room. Throwing cushions at one another and laughing happily.

"Alicia?" My daughter was hunched over mobile phone with a dirty-blonde haired boy. They were laughing at whatever picture was on the screen.

"Hey Mum!" Allie replied.

I raised an eyebrow- where had my daughter's manners gone? And why on earth were there biscuit crumbs littered all over my son's coffee table? "Sweetie, I believe I need to be introduced to your friends?"

"Oh right!" Alicia jumped immediately to her feet. "These are Nick's friends, Mum. This is Gavin-"

"Gazzy," the blonde boy interrupted at her side, he had a wide toothed grin. A little ragamuffin whose cheeks I wanted to pinch while I cooed over him. Although that probably wouldn't go down well with the tall teenager. Best to restrain myself, I thought.

"And this is Monique," Allie continued. A dark skinned girl with chocolate coloured eyes gave a bright smile and a little wave.

"Iggy." A very tall boy with cloudy, grey eyes turned to me and raised a hand as a smile tugged the corner of his thin lips. Oh my word, the young man was roughly the same age as my Nicholas- probably around twenty years old. He was a man with ropey muscles and a kind smile- he was very clearly blind. Poor boy.

"And finally, Angeline," Allie finished with a flourish. Angeline was a stunner- the youngest of the group. Slim with white blonde hair and cornflower eyes and a beautiful smile. They were all so tall- just like my Nick.

"Well, I must say- I am delighted to meet all of Nicholas's friends! You are very welcome!"

I was greeted with a loud course of greetings and bright smiles. Oh, what lovely young people! And to think my Nick had hidden these delightful friends from me for all this time! To think of all the dinners I could have arranged, the outings we could have had- or picnics! And parties at holidays! Speaking of Nicholas- he was the host, where were his manners? More importantly, where was he?

Perhaps in bed. As I left the room, a few hands reached out to eat the last of the crumbling biscuits on the table. Hmm, I would have to fix that. Once I found my son that is- and Max. I hope she had remembered to take her medication today- poor dear with those terrible migraines, Nick would no doubt remind her.

There was no light coming from under his bedroom door, so I assumed my son was still in bed. Not for long! No son of mine would ever be accused of not treating his guests well. Easing open the door, I peaked my head around the jamb.

Oh my!!

In the middle of my son's bed was my son. Beneath his black eiderdown that I bought on sale in that lovely home décor shop in town. But he wasn't alone. Maxine- no, Max- was with him. In every sense of the word! My not-so-innocent son's hands were buried in her short blonde hair and they were joined together at the mouth! I must have made some sort of vocal squeak, because two sets of eyes immediately snapped towards my face.

"Oh! Hello! Max, darling, how are you feeling? Don't mind me- you go right on back to… yes. I'm going to do a lovely lunch for everybody and you two feel free to join us whenever you want!"

"We were just sleeping," Max blurted out as her cheeks took on a rosy hue. I gave a flippant chuckle as Nick gave a smothered snort of laughter.

"Nicholas," I reprimanded before turning my attention to his companion. "Oh, don't you bother about that, dear. Don't you two just look adorable! A mother is never wrong- but I'm sure you'll know all about that someday soon! Well, join us later on darlings," I called. Max hid her wide-eyed look of mortification beneath Nick's shoulder. She hit him sharply on the arm as he laughed heartily, I took that as my cue to shut the door.

"Don't open those biscuits," I informed Allie as she walked in carrying two unopened packets of cookies. "Give me half an hour and there will be a nice big lunch on the table."

The gathered youths gave a cheer and I grabbed the phone as I walked through the sitting room. I hastily dialled a very familiar number and waited as the dial tone rang in my ear. I was almost bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Jon, sweetheart, it's me!… I need you to go to town for me and pick up some groceries!… Nicholas's friends are here and I want to cook them some lunch… Of course I am not interfering!… Oh the most wonderful thing has happened, darling- I was right all along!… When Gina comes to pick up Rosie, I think we should ask her for Rosie's old baby toys… We are going to have the cutest little grandchildren! Gorgeous grand-kiddies!!" I squealed as I set the large dinner table.

"Mother!!" An exasperated cry came from down the hall. I gave a contented smile and began humming as I mixed some eggs. Joshua was a nice name, or Katie… A cot- we would need to help them pick out a cot and I could knit some blankets… Oh this was going to be just darling!

**-FIN-**


	29. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

Hi everyone, Rach here =]

This, unfortunately, is not news of a new story- but please keep reading, because if you like my fics this is definitely very important.

I was going to post this on my profile but I didn't think many people would see it there, and I really want you guys to read this. I will probably delete it soon, but I'll leave it up for a few days or weeks so that most of you have a chance to see it. It's kind of like an author's note, I suppose.

This little message is to every single person who has read one of my stories, reviewed them, added to favourites/alerts or dropped in with PMs. I know I have said it many times before, but I don't think I can ever say it enough- **THANK YOU!!**

I'm turning _eighteen_ on the _15th__ of May_, and I was just thinking about the past year. To be honest, some parts of it weren't all that great! Maybe that was why I got so motivated to start and keep writing fanfics on this site. You guys were constantly so encouraging and inspiring, and that really does mean so so much to me. I actually can't tell you guys or express to you just how much it means! The fact that I can't write much anymore thanks to schoolwork makes me feel like such a traitor! =(

All of my reviewers are so important to me, and there really are too many of you to name but you know who you are. Some of you (you know who) have reviewed every single one of my stories in a particular category, you guys should know that you put huuuuuge smiles on my face! Sometimes it's only a few words or a single sentence, but every single review is so appreciated.

The Mortal Instruments 2009 Awards- what can I say- the fact that so many of you nominated me overwhelms and shocks me and I am honoured that you think I could even deserve to be nominated.

I myself have a dedication to everyone on fanfic who has reviewed, added to alerts and favourites and read my stories and nominated me for awards on my Bebo page to show everyone how great you guys are =] But let's be honest, _great_ is a massive understatement!

I would also like to give a personal shout out to the most fantastic girl in the world, who goes by the name of **Aine** (_XxAinexX_ she is in my favourite authors on my profile) She is a wonderful, talented writer and the best friend anyone could ask for- seriously, I should bow down before her but I'm too sarcastic and I would laugh too much! She would probably tell me to cop on anyway, but she is truly amazing and deserves an entire book written about her not just a little paragraph here. =]

So yeah, that is the end of my soppy and emotional address to you all. I guess I'm just getting nostalgic as I approach the big One-Eight!! As my younger cousin (aged 16 lol!!) told me today: you're getting old Rach!! I guess reminiscing and nostalgia come with age!! Lol =P

Once again, thank you all for being so unbelievably fantastic! You have made my day, my week and my month on so many occasions by following my stories- yeah, you guys pretty much made my year of being seventeen at times! So thank you =] I really can never say it enough!

Raven-Rach xxxx


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